A Letter from Quality Analyst, Tamara
February marks the commemoration and celebration of African American History Month. Golden Hippo is so proud to celebrate the cultures, contributions and resilience of the African American community at Golden Hippo and around the world… Not only in February but all year long.
Our D&I Employee Resource Group, the Diversity POD, is doing quite a few things this month to share the stories and experiences of the African American community. Some of these things include sharing informational Slacks each week to highlight African American change-makers. In addition to this, they’re hosting an Employee-Led Discussion Panel where our panel of employees will host a live discussion to share their stories, experiences, and accomplishments.
To kick off African American History Month… Diversity POD leader, Tamara, wrote this thought-provoking introduction for our internal company newsletter.
“Do you know why I love being a Hippo? It’s the diversity, for me!
During my onboarding process, I was worried about how the company would react to the way that I look. An African American woman with hot pink locs sounds like an unpredictable combination. For that reason, I covered my hair in all of my video interviews only to have my final interview with an African American man with locs. There has been such a negative stigma surrounding locs in the workplace that I was okay sacrificing not ever showing my hair to ensure I had a great job. I became a Hippo June 1st, 2021 and I have to say that this is the best career choice I have ever made. My first day did not feel like a first day because everyone was so personable and welcoming. As an African American woman, it is easy to feel like you are a minority but Golden Hippo has never made me feel that way. I am humbled and elated to be a part of such a diverse company!
Since becoming a Hippo, I have learned so much about myself and have learned how to overcome my social anxiety. My amazing manager, Michelle Betancourt, has taught me the importance of self-care and time-management to ensure I am always productive instead of busy.
In honor of African American Heritage Month, I will be working alongside our Diversity team to educate everyone in the company on African American culture through educational content by spreading awareness on specific topics and even sharing some of my favorite southern recipes. I can’t wait to show everyone how we do things in South Carolina.”
-Tamara M.
“One of the lessons that I grew up with was to always stay true to yourself and never let what somebody else says distract you from your goals. And so when I hear about negative and false attacks, I really don’t invest any energy in them, because I know who I am.” – Michelle Obama""