Bayo was such a delight to shoot. After rescheduling multiple times we finally met up on a grey morning in Volunteer Park. Bayo’s love for uniqlo was apparently, but it was amazing to see how he came into himself in his second outfit. We had a blast talking and posing, and hope you have just as much fun reading through his interview :)
Tell us a little about you.
I’m a Nigerian that moved to the United States in 2000. This is where I discovered Windows 98 and decided I wanted to work for the company that made it (Microsoft). I thought Microsoft made the whole computer E2E: the OS, the hardware, and the whole internet. This false assumption is what drove me find a way to join the company.
While at MIT, I learned about the Explorer program at Microsoft. I got to intern at Microsoft 2x, and now I am a Program Manager on the Windows Experience team.
I believe the sky is NOT the limit - our imaginations are. This belief lead me to my passion, which is to pioneer the future. I plan to leverage this passion into something that can help others grow; I want us all to shoot past the sky.
Tell us about what you’re wearing.
I used to be very much anti-chic, but my sister has made it her mission to fix that.
I usually like to find clothes that are simple and elegant. When I was in China, I discovered Uniqlo, which I have to say is high on my fav store list now. I got a few nice button up shirts, T shirts, and a simple Jacket. This (hopefully) usually keeps me in the simple-yet-elegant bucket.
This is a Nigerian outfit that was made when I went home last year. Every time I go back home my mom always commissions our tailor to make us a new outfit for that year. The jacket is one I got made when I was in Thailand. I noticed they pair very well together and have combined them since. It’s multi-cultural :)
How did your style evolve to what it is now?
As I mentioned earlier, I used to not be a “chic” person. I kind of wore whatever was comfortable. I couldn’t find a good intersection between comfort, elegant, and NOT STUPIDLY EXPENSIVE. My sister wanted to make sure I didn’t embarrass her when we are out together (jk), so she started buying me nice looking clothes as gifts.
My sister’s efforts + being around chic people + having $$ has allowed me to start exploring different styles. When it comes to elegance, I have to say I do like the super formal look, but I like simple even better.
Do you have any style icons or favorite brands?
Uniqlo hahaha. I just discovered it and I will rave about their clean and simple style to the world.
Any advice for a young person thinking about getting into a STEM field?
STEM is basically seeping into everything, so STEM can probably lead you into any interest. This path you are about to choose is going to be difficult, but trust me, it’s definitely worth it. Here are some things to remember:
- Never be afraid to ask for help.
- Don’t be afraid to be wrong. “When you’re scared, you can’t learn.” Definitely try to not make mistakes, but embrace mistakes when they happen. Learn from them. Don’t dwell on them.
- Be open to feedback, but don’t give up on important goals too easily; that is how you grow. Now, the hard part is learning to know what feedback to give weight to. Sadly, this you get through experience. You need to learn to get as much objective/real data around your goals. Feedback should be another input.
- Oh and go intern somewhere. Internships are amazing.
What would you say is the project you’ve done that you’re proudest of?
I have worked on so many things at Microsoft and believe me, I am very proud of them all. For this let’s do a throwback - at MIT I took a class called 6.111 which focused on digital systems. For our final project, we decided to create the game, Guitar Hero, using FPGAs and real guitars. The number of things we had to learn was ridiculous but so much fun. Some at the top of my mind are:
- Learn to play the Guitar
- Learn about Fast Fourier Transforms
- How to get an FPGA to display something
We basically lived in the lab that semester. The project started without even knowing If it was possible, but we managed to break down each obstacle into a simper problem and solved them. Even though the class was divided into teams, the whole class basically worked on all projects since most of us picked things that were way beyond us. By putting all our heads together, we were able to do amazing things. At the end, when we got it working…. Oh the feels
I know many of you have stories of living in the lab, I’d love you to share them with me (find me on fb/insta/twitter below).
What is the best way (if any) for people to follow you on social media?
Facebook / Twitter (I should use this more) / Instagram
xoxo,
Dona & Beth