Jafar is an employee at GWA, who happens to work within the tech department. For those who know me, tech is not my strength or my passion. I often defer to others’ brain power when navigating tech, special programs, or the shortcuts to work efficiency. I can get by, but I’d rather navigate the nuances of human behavior and interaction than a keyboard.
One of the gifts with where my office is located at GWA is that it happens to be next to the tech department, where four brilliant and helpful men are there to serve and support the many students and staff at GWA, including myself.
Jafar was one of the first I met in the department. His desk is the one surrounded by various keyboards, tech tools, as well as gizmos and gadgets. He’s the go-to guy for putting the pieces and parts back together to fix any computer. Recently, I asked Jafar about his background, as he acquired skills for several trades at a young age. I expect he’s in his late 20’s. This is when he shared that he left home at the age of 13. Yes, 13. This would have been 8th grade for my girls. I can’t even imagine.
He went on to share the many skills he’s acquired, all self-taught, due to necessity. He’s been everything from a plumber to an electrician and travel guide. He’s taught himself three languages, and now he’s a computer program developer and technician at GWA. Honestly, he’s brilliant. He showed me some of the programs he’s developed and he could easily have a high-level coding job in Google.
As Americans, we so often think you enter one trade and develop that skill over time- in Morocco or developing countries, that’s not always the case. Sometimes, according to Jafar, you simply have to ask, “What is next?” especially when it comes to survival of the fittest.
So I’m lucky to get to work and learn from Jafar each day. While he attempts to teach me his many tech tricks, sometimes I’d just prefer that he bask in the glory of showing me his skills. We all need a Jafar to keep us motivated and remind us, that it doesn’t matter our age, we can always continue to develop our skills by asking, "What's next?"
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