Shelmina Abji
Shelmina was born in Mwanza, Tanzania. Her parents, who had very little money, always instilled in her the importance of education. Determined to make them happy, she focused diligently on her studies from a young age. At 15 years old Shelmina completed 10th grade and had to leave home in order to obtain a higher education. She initially moved to Dar-es-Salaam to finish high school, and then to Pune in India for a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics. She brought back and sold clothes from India to help pay for her tuition and her airfare to see her parents during summer. Being far away from home was difficult, especially because her family who did not own a phone, but nothing would get in the way of her education. Shelmina was the first person in her family to obtain a college degree. With a degree in hand, she had no idea what she wanted to do until she came upon a magazine article on computer science.
Shelmina started a new chapter in her journey when she moved to the cold climate of Wisconsin to attend the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Her parents gave her most of their life savings to pursue a degree in Computer Science. Motivated not to waste their money, she worked in the Computer Science department making as little as $3.35 an hour. Shelmina put her earnings towards her tuition and took any shift she could get working 30 to 40 hours a week. She could not have been more proud of herself when she received a .20 cent pay increase to $3.55 an hour. Shelmina has degrees in Computer Science and Mathematics. She started her career as a software developer and then moved into sales and sales leadership. She has successfully led multiple teams to grow profitable revenue in various sectors. As part of IBM’s top talent, she has received extensive leadership training at IBM, Harvard University, and UCLA.
Shelmina became a single mother when her kids were 2 and 4. That trying period not only motivated her to be a better mother, but also to be successful in her career, as she now wanted to provide for the well-being and college education of her children. She balanced a successful career as one of the highest-ranking women of color at IBM with raising two amazing children. Sophia, age 27, graduated Yale University is a policy advisor at NYC mayors office of environmental sustainability and Samir, age 22, graduated from University of Washington and works as a software developer at Microsoft.
Overcoming obstacles has been a recurring theme in Shelmina’s life. Today, she is grateful for her struggles. Due to her great success, her Alma Mater asked her to come back and share her journey at the Women Moving Ahead conference. This opportunity fueled Shelmina’s passion for sharing her story and empowering women. Using her life lessons as her foundation, Shelmina is dedicated to paying it forward and inspiring other women to succeed. She believes in empowering women to take control of their lives, teaching them to be intentional and focus their energy in a positive direction in an effort not just to survive, but also to thrive through conscious living and making excellent choices. Shelmina currently sits on the board of Young Women Empowered, an organization dedicated to empowering young women leaders through intergenerational mentorship.
Shelmina lives in Bellevue, Washington and Washington, DC, with her loving and supportive husband Minaz. She loves spending time with her family, friends, working out, reading and traveling the world… She also calls herself a “spa junkie.” She feels forever indebted to the Universe, her family, and many others for inspiring her along this journey. She states her deepest gratitude as such