Veronica Miller’s Journey from Eritrean Refugee to NVIDIA Technical Program Manager

Veronica
Miller,
an
Eritrean
refugee
who
fled
her
homeland
with
her
family
to
escape
an
ongoing
war,
has
found
a
new
life
and
career
success
in
the
United
States.
According
to
the

NVIDIA
Blog,
Miller
now
serves
as
a
Technical
Program
Manager
in
product
security
at
NVIDIA,
where
she
feels
her
family’s
journey
has
come
full
circle.

Early
Life
and
Challenges

At
the
age
of
five,
Miller
(née
Teklai)
and
her
family
left
Eritrea,
a
country
in
the
Horn
of
Africa,
to
escape
the
conflict
with
Ethiopia.
They
settled
in
East
Orange,
New
Jersey,
where
they
faced
numerous
challenges.
Miller
recalls
watching
her
parents
struggle
to
find
jobs
despite
their
qualifications
due
to
their
appearance,
accented
English,
and
unfamiliar
names.

Her
father,
after
two
decades
in
the
shipping
industry,
became
a
New
York
City
cab
driver,
a
job
fraught
with
dangers
in
the
1980s.
Her
mother,
who
earned
a
computer
science
degree
in
the
U.S.,
found
work
as
a
home
health
aide,
a
field
with
more
job
opportunities.

“My
parents’
resilience
and
courage
made
my
life
possible,”
Miller
said.

Career
Path
and
Achievements

Miller
graduated
from
Ramapo
College
of
New
Jersey
with
a
degree
in
international
business
and
began
her
career
in
client
support,
production
support,
and
project
management
at
large
automotive
companies.
Her
career
took
a
significant
turn
when
she
joined
NVIDIA,
where
she
now
works
as
a
Technical
Program
Manager
in
product
security.

Describing
her
role,
Miller
likens
herself
to
a
conductor
in
an
orchestra,
working
with
engineers
to
bridge
gaps,
understand
challenges,
and
define
solutions.
She
strives
to
turn
obstacles
into
opportunities
through
collaboration.

“It’s
the
honor
of
my
life
being
here
at
NVIDIA:
I’m
the
proudest
refugee,”
she
said.

Embracing
Authenticity
and
Giving
Back

At
NVIDIA,
Miller
has
found
an
environment
that
encourages
her
to
be
her
authentic
self,
allowing
her
creativity
to
flourish.
She
shared
that
in
previous
roles,
she
felt
pressured
to
conform,
even
altering
her
appearance
to
fit
in.
“NVIDIA
is
the
first
employer
that
encouraged
me
to
bring
my
full
self
to
work,”
she
said.

Outside
of
her
professional
life,
Miller
and
her
husband,
Nathan,
are
dedicated
to
community
service.
They
established
The
Miller
Family
Foundation
to
support
local
youth
in
Trenton,
New
Jersey.
The
foundation
has
donated
$20,000
in
scholarships
to
low-income
high
school
students
for
college
tuition
and
career
mentorship.

“I
truly
believe
anyone
could
get
here.
There
wasn’t
anyone
that
showed
me
the
path.
It
was
belief
in
myself,
a
ton
of
research,
and
endless
hard
work,”
Miller
said.
“We’re
in
a
special
place
where
my
husband
and
I
can
give
the
next
generation
some
of
the
financial
support
and
career
guidance
we
didn’t
have.”

Learn
more
about


NVIDIA
life,
culture
and
careers.

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source:
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