Bloom: Céline Verwilligen
Céline Verwilligen is 'not your usual ICT girl'. After 2.5 years as a DevOps at FlowFactor, she can fully put her social and helpful talents to use in her work. Her love of knitting, drawing, friends and going out break all the stereotypes of IT. Read her story below! ⬇️
Only 26 years old, and Céline Verwilligen sits already in front of us with an inspiring story of assertiveness, passion and a calmness that comes from her down-to-earth mentality. With her self-knitted hat and a broad smile from ear to ear, she tells us how her path has unfolded. 🧶
Thank you Mr Heremans
Do you remember where your love for tech started and how it grew?
Actually, I was interested in computers from a very young age. I know that we were very late in getting a computer, all my friends already had one at home and we didn't yet. Then my dad needed a computer for accounting, which he bought second-hand so he wouldn't spend too much money on it. We could play games on it during the weekend and that's how it grew. But the moment I decided IT was my thing came during one hour of workshop in the fourth grade in secondary school. They introduced that at the time because there was too little enrolment in computer science at school, and a good thing too. Many students who went there were more like gamers who then wanted to develop games themselves. But I didn't like the kind of games they played, so I would never have chosen computer science based on that! The initiative came from Mr Heremans who was the computer science teacher. I don't think he knows that he had such an impact on me, although I am still in touch with him. Maybe this interview is just the way to thank him. A new world opened up for me: actually it was just logical thinking, and I am good at that! Maths has always been one of my better subjects, not above average or anything like that, but I did manage. So I wanted to dare to go to computer science in the 5th and 6th year.
"The moment I decided IT was my thing came during one hour of a workshop in the fourth grade.
In your higher studies you have chosen Applied ICT at KDG in the System & Network Management major. Why this choice?
That was a logical next step. In secondary school, my interest in understanding how computers actually work and the electronics and systems behind them began. That curiosity evolved into server systems and data centres, which I found extremely interesting. I am also someone who likes variety and who wants to work with the bigger picture. I am a visual person, but not for building websites or applications. I didn't want to specialise in a language such as Java or .NET either, because I mainly wanted to work with systems and understand the networks behind them. Linux based operating systems suited me fine.
There are already relatively few girls in applied ICT, but in the Network & System field there are actually the fewest. What do you think about that?
That's right, I was the only girl in that graduating class. I also was one of the first girls at the secondary school to choose computer science. In my current job, I am also the only technical woman in the entire Shared Infrastructure department at my client. That is a pity because it would be much nicer with more women. In the meantime, I have gotten so used to it that I am no longer surprised. In my spare time I have my girlfriends and I can talk to them about all the girly stuff.
One of the first, so you were a pioneer?! It must have taken a lot of strength not to be influenced by your surroundings at the age of 16.
That was actually very difficult. My parents in particular found it difficult. They assumed that technology was just a 'phase' and they thought it was a study for boys. For me, it was very simple, because there was nothing else that gave me so much satisfaction; I had no alternatives. So that did cause some discussions at home. In the end, however, it worked out well. I can well imagine that if you do have alternatives or doubts, and you hear such things from your surroundings, it is easy to become discouraged or to be talked down. I find that a bit sad.
There is often an idea of data centres as dusty, dark cellars; not a very sexy image. Can you pinpoint what it is about data centres that appeals to you so much? Is it the grandeur?
Yes, especially the computing power of how powerful those machines are. It doesn't matter if a million people surf to that site or five, that site keeps working and that is what I find interesting to investigate, as well as how you scale the workload. It's funny that I feel that way, because that's only true of computers. It's not that I have such a fascination for discovering how something works with other things in my life. By the way, data centres don't look like that, and you don't work there as DevOps either. It's not so horrific. (laughs)'
Going with the flow at FlowFactor
"At FlowFactor, I was given the freedom to find out which tools and technologies I wanted to explore. Apart from the great people, that was the reason why I signed my contract straight away."
After an initial encounter with FlowFactor at an internship fair, and an immediate click with Kilian,one of the managing partners, the company quickly became the number 1 on Céline's list of internships. Already back then she was welcomed with open arms. After graduating, the choice to work there was easily made, now 2,5 years ago.
When I graduated, I actually already knew that I wanted to work at FlowFactor. I did check out some other companies because DevOps can be so broad and I wanted to see all the possibilities. At FlowFactor, I was given the freedom to find out which tools and technologies I wanted to immerse myself in. Apart from the great people, that was the reason why I signed my contract straight away.
What is your role at FlowFactor now? What does your day look like? What technologies do you use?
Iwork as a DevOps consultant at our customer Argenta in the public cloud team, where we are managing a major migration to Azure. I maily help the developers with security. I am good at Terraform and like to use it.
From your blog posts and the workshops you give, we've already seen that Terraform is one of your main areas of expertise. Is that why they are using it now at Argenta?
(laughs) That's something I'm very proud of, I actually introduced it there. It is an 'IaC', infrastructure as code. You can put your entire infrastructure, including the servers and all the security behind them, into a code block. This way, you can recover your entire environment as quickly as possible. The chance of breaking something by making adjustments is very unlikely, and even if something does happen, we can always ensure that everything is back up and running within five minutes.
What is the difference with other DevOps tools?
The biggest advantage, I personally think, is the small learning curve for developers. It is a very user-friendly language and in larger teams, usability is really important. In addition, you can use it for any type of cloud system. You have a config for Azure, AWS, Google Cloud, ... you can even put your on-prem environment in Terraform. I myself work mainly with Azure. There are alternatives, such as ARM-templates, but they are actually less user-friendly.
DevOps, not what we think
In DevOps, it is your responsibility to build the bridge between the code, the application that the developers create and the infrastructure, often the cloud servers. Deploying new releases, updating web apps, ... But what does that mean in concrete terms?
What does your day look like?
A misconception is that it is just installing software. "Click, click, click" and done, whereas the majority of my time goes into the human aspect. It is actually a very social profession that requires you to bring people together all the time, coordinate and really work as a team. I give workshops to the different teams, help write pipelines and check with the different groups where they need certain things in order to get a working app in the cloud.
The process often starts with a presentation that I give together with a solution architect to map out the possibilities. Then I announce that they need to keep two days free for the next sprint, so we can work hands-on and program together. I also notice that the developers find this extremely interesting. For example, I recently gave an Azure workshop and the team got to work on it so quickly that they called me back not long after to explain how well it had gone. That really gives me goosebumps; I love teaching people new technologies!
"It is actually a very social profession for which you have to bring people together all the time, coordinate and really work as a team."
Was it a surprise to you that it is such a social profession?
A little bit! During my studies at KDG it was already quite clear. We had to work together a lot and most assignments consisted of group work. But in the real world that is much more fun. Being able to help others and the gratitude you receive for that are what motivate me.
Are there any challenges you have encountered in your career? How did you deal with them?
I had a bit of a bad experience with one of my previous clients. You could probably even call it sexism. At every stand-up I got inapproriate comments and after a while I was micromanaged so hard that I was completely under it. I am naturally very perfectionist and want to do everything right, but with such a person in your team, that sometimes meant that I had to work from seven in the morning until the early hours of the morning trying to get things right. At a certain point, I couldn't cope anymore and I told my managers at FlowFactor. That was a difficult step for me to take, actually admitting that I couldn't solve it myself. But I am extremely happy that I did. I worked there for two more days and then they took me out of there. I was taken care of very well, I worked internally for three months and even received coaching, which really helped me. After that, FlowFactor was also very selective about the customers they placed me with, as my wellbeing came first. Afterwards I asked my replacement for this client what his experience was. He thought the person was a great colleague, super pleasant and he gave him a lot of freedom... So it was really just me. I have learned not to take it personal anymore.
Not your usual ICT-girl
On your Instagram, we read in your bio 'Not your usual ICT-girl'. What exactly do you mean by that?
That's a statement that already started to emerge during my studies. When people think of ICT, they don't really see me in it. I have a distinctive clothing style, I'm very social, I like to go out. I don't sit behind my computer in my free time. When people hear that I work in DevOps, they are very surprised.'
"When people think of ICT, they don't really see me in it. I have a distinctive clothing style, I'm very social, like to go out. When people hear that I work in DevOps, they are very surprised."
What did you want to become as a child?
I wanted to be an artist. Art always appealed to me. It still does. As a hobby, I draw at an art school. Mostly nude models or portraits. It is mainly being busy with my hands that provides a good counterbalance to my work. I also leave my phone at home when I go. Digital drawing can also be very nice, but then I'm back in front of the computer. I also crochet and knit a lot. Especially scarves and hats! Also something people don't immediately associate with IT people (laughs).
My social life is very important to me. I have a nice group of friends and we like to go out together, almost every Friday!
You yourself found your passion for IT around the age of 14-15. What tip would you give girls of 14 in relation to tech?
That they should really choose what they like to do and not be discouraged by societal standards. Also that DevOps really is a social and caring job. You're not constantly sitting in front of your computer and you're helping people.'
Thank you for taking the time to read the story. Do you like it? Then we would love it if you shared it with your own network, friends and family. #BreakTheBias
