We had the good fortune of connecting with Voké Adeleke and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Voké, as a parent, what do you feel is the most meaningful thing you’ve done for them?

As a parent, I would say one of the most important things I and my husband have done has been to invest in our children’s academic and social well-being. We have 3 children. We spend a large chunk of our time on them, ensuring that they have a very solid foundation in their academics, extra-curricular activities and social values.

We tell them all the time that the greatest inheritance that we can pass on to them is their education and their faith in God through Jesus. We believe very strongly that if they take their education seriously, they would be able to make the wealth to live the lives of their dreams. And we encourage them to put their trust and love in Christ to lead and guide their decisions in life as they learn to love and help others.

We also encourage them about hard work, never to shy away from responsibilities and to delay gratification. Nothing comes free or easy. Looking for the easy way out or the quickest shortcut always spells doom and should be avoided, no matter how attractive it looks.

Our children love sports and play Netball, Tennis, Football in and outside school. They also enjoy singing and playing the piano. We encourage them to use their energy in these productive ways to build their resilience as well as stay out of the dangers that come with being idle.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?

I have been privileged to be able to pursue my passions as a Consultant Computer Engineer and a Contemporary Christian/ Gospel Artist. For the purpose of this interview, I would like to focus on my career as a Computer Engineer, Trainer and Coach.

I guess what sets me apart from others is my approach to work. I work as a Unix Consultant and have been blessed to work across different industries. I see work as an opportunity to make a difference. A difference in the companies I serve, helping them achieve their goals for impact and more importantly, to make a difference in the lives of those I work with beginning from whatever team I join and working my way outwards to the wider organization who will be directly or indirectly impacted by the work I do.

I’m most proud of the repeated successes that I have been able to achieve on various roles. I come away from each project with a sense of satisfaction and confirmation, time and again, from those I have worked with, that my style of work and the quality of the service I have rendered has contributed in some way to the overall success of the business, team and particularly the relationships that have been formed.

Being able to articulate a problem point on my job and resolving it with my technical skills as well as provide advice that is well received, implemented and successful is always a thing of joy.

As a Trainer and Coach, I train young people and others looking to transition into the Tech industry on skills like Linux, Cloud Computing and technologies that make them relevant in today’s Corporate world, giving them access to opportunities to improve their lives. I also coach on soft-skills to help them stand out in the interviewing processes and core values for life and work.

So, how did you get to where you are now as a professional?

How did I get to where I am? Wow! That would be going down memory lane! Lol!

The bottom line I would say is by being hardworking and always having a positive attitude to work and the people you work with. It hasn’t always been easy but having a can-do mindset has always helped me press on through difficult and challenging situations.
In the early days of my career, I had to try so many things and I guess that is a good way to get started until you find the aspect that you truly enjoy and specialize in that area.

My approach to work has always been to get the job done and not to shy away from responsibilities no matter how daunting.
I would say this mindset and disposition to work and circumstances has helped me overcome challenges even when I didn’t realise it.

So, a few lessons I’ve learned along the way are
1. Don’t shy away from responsibilities, they build your stamina and push you to the top without you even knowing.
2. Don’t seek to impress anyone. Let your work speak for you.
3. As much as possible, get along with everyone. You spend 1/3rd of your day at work so don’t allow yourself be miserable due to someone else.
4. Help your boss, don’t add to their burden, take initiatives and keep improving your skills.
5. Be determined to solve problems and make someone else’s day.
6. Having a job/ business is an opportunity, so be thankful for it and use it well.

My story is one of grace and tenacity. I want to encourage young people to be resilient and focused in today’s world.

I see a lot of young people being plagued with an entitlement mindset or the desire for quick fame and money without putting in the work. This is being encouraged largely by social media and the make-belief lives that are typified on there.

I love to mentor, teach and encourage young people to take up skills in STEM- especially Information Technology – because the opportunities there are vast. I also want to encourage them to see the love of Jesus all around them and receive that love to help in decision making on life’s issues like their education, friendships and future careers. That’s what I sing about in my songs.

I have an online chat show titled – Talk to me with Voké – where I discuss with young people and other adults who have come through life, sometimes through adversity and have achieved success in their educational pursuits and careers, to share and inspire other young people to do the same. So be sure to check out my social media links for more information!

   My Company – Detovo Ltd – trains predominantly black young people and others seeking to get into or transition into Tech on skills like Linux, Cloud computing and Devops and we have a new cohort starting soon so anyone interested can also reach me on my social media links.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.

As I don’t live in Nashville but have visited, I think I can mention a place or two, some of which my friends have recommended,

I enjoyed the meal at Monell’s, really good. They do massive banquet, family style meals.

I would love to visit Butcher & Bee for lunch as I hear they have really good food.

I would try out Opry Land Hotel to visit and get pure inspiration.

My friends highly recommend Dollywood Theme Park, so I will be trying it out when I come with my family!

I visited Belonging.co on a Sunday for worship service and it was such a cool place to be. The atmosphere was vibrant and the worship was still heartfelt.

The next time I visit, I would love to visit Nashville Life Church where Cece Winans is a pastor.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?

Thank you for giving me this opportunity to be able to give a shout out to someone that has impacted my life for many decades. My story would not be complete without her. An African proverb says it takes a village to raise a child. So firstly, I want to thank my parents for giving her access to me, because if they hadn’t, it may have been a different story altogether.

I want to give a big shout out to a wonderful woman fondly called “Aunty Ayo” by so many people the world over!
Aunty Ayo Alamutu came into my life when I was about 11 or 12. She was my Sunday School teacher at Guiding Light Assembly – a church in Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria where I lived in my childhood.

She took a keen interest in me and so many other young people back then and would ask my parents if she could have me spend some weekends with her and her family. She was like an extension of my family and I felt like part of hers. Her parents and siblings treated me like their own and I felt really comfortable. Even when Aunty’s dad passed on decades later, she sought for me from wherever I was and asked that I travelled with them for Papa’s final journey home.

Aunty Ayo helped me to love Jesus and grow in my faith as a young Christian child. She exposed me to contemporary gospel music at that early age. I discovered artists like Point of Grace and Michael W. Smith back in the 90s through magazines she got me. Today, apart from being a Computer Engineer, I am a recording Contemporary and Gospel Artist.

Aunty Ayo was a pillar to me at different points in my life from being a Teen to a young adult and even after I got married and started having children.
She would advice when I took a wrong step and buttress the need to be obedient to our parents as children.
She would go in search of me when she had not heard from me in a long while and always knew where I was in the world whether in different states in Nigeria back then, to my current location in London.
Aunty Ayo was firm and blunt, telling us the hard truth even when it felt hard to swallow. This helped me stay grounded. She had a good balance of love and discipleship.

Aunty Ayo is now 62, having celebrated her birthday January and she continues to be a blessing to me and the “Teens” from back in the day, while continuing to make an impact on today’s teenagers, being heavily invested not only in their Christian faith but their academic and social success.

“Thank you Aunty Ayo for being a role model to me. I truly love and appreciate you.”

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vokeadeleke

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vokeadeleke/

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/vokeadeleke

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vokeadeleke

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/vokeadeleke

Other: Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@vokeadeleke Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0TYJh0euUh0HEoORFaLpmq Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/voké/1640568503

Image Credits
Ayo Alamutu Kelly Samuel Tega Numa

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