I work for the world's leading company in humanism.

Since #ibm gave me the opportunity to prove myself six years ago by hiring me, at a time when giving that chance to someone with no experience was a double-edged sword, I knew instantly that I wasn't at just any company.

But on January 30, 2023, IBM proved to me that, in its 112-year longevity, it has not only been its enormous technological contribution that has marked its position as one of the giants of the industry, but it has been its leadership in quality and human development, IBM's undisputed legacy to its employees and to the world.

That day, I had the heartbreaking misfortune of having to say goodbye to one of the most important beings in my life: my beloved dog "Gomita". She was with me for 11 beautiful years, until old age (the vivid reminder that sooner or later, our time in the world comes to an end) was more powerful than any medicine or scientific knowledge. My heart has broken into a thousand pieces, I admit it. But I also admit that several friendly and unknown hands have taken those pieces of my heart with delicacy and affection.

The process of her illness began exactly in 2021, and in 2022, the real challenge began: the presence of an incurable disease, studies, responsibility with family and work, everything had to be perfectly balanced. Thinking about how I would do it, I was and am blessed to witness that legacy of leadership. And it is here that I recognize the enormous human capacity to empathize with the employees that I have had the opportunity to experience at Security de Cloud. For all those times I had to rush to the vet, get the work done and then go back to work and to study, I thank from the bottom of my heart both my bosses and my bosses' bosses, because somewhere you had to learn that a valued, cared for and loved employee is an employee who will give her all.

And I gave it my all, right up to the last minute.

On January 30 I just heard my boss, while watching me on Webex crying in a moment of vulnerability that I never thought I would have at a professional level, tell me to please go do what I had to do, that we would go one day at a time and that, after doing a mini report on something work-related, he would laughingly tell me that "I was too responsible even for my own good" (I admit that for a moment, the comment made me smile amidst so much pain) and to please keep them informed.

In a world where an employee is usually code number, such a display of humanism is a revolutionary act.

The hours passed and the inevitable came. I don't feel calm yet, but time is the strongest balm we can have. Pets went from being just that to members of the family. They accompany you even when a company hires you in your first job. They become part of your happiness. And in that emotional section, no one beats IBM. I have not stopped crying even as I write this, because I feel that a part of me is gone, a chapter of my life, but the expressions of affection have been warm, full of affection and respect. Like that pair of wings waiting for you to take flight.

And it is here, in the midst of so much pain, tears and a sincere space of vulnerability, that I recognize that IBM is what it is, because of the humanism of its leaders, a legacy of greatness befitting a company that has seen the world grow for more than a century. Not every boss in the world cares about your family, they care about your future, your career development, your education and above all about you.

That is why I am proud to work here, at IBM, where I have felt that support, space and opportunities that make it almost an Eden in the midst of a time of crisis in all aspects worldwide. The price? Doing your job with ethics, enthusiasm, and a lot of creativity.

As development professionals, we have witnessed catastrophes such as the Pandemic, wars, famine and climate damage, where everything moves so fast and yet we must be at "100%" productivity, evokes, as the philosopher Byung-Chul Han points out, that we get to live in a society of fatigue. Therefore, it is imperative that companies provide that pause, that respite, that space where employees can express their vulnerability without fear of being fired, as it will rather produce a level of self-confidence with great results.

IBM gives its employees that space, what could be more powerful than that in today's world?

Is there anything stronger and more innovative than letting employees be human beings?

Yes, there are thousands of companies in the world. Probably many have this humanity, to generalize otherwise would be unfair, but now, at this moment in history, in my life as a 32-year-old woman, Costa Rican, Latina with European heritage, curly-haired, lover of charity, activism, humanities, environment, cybersecurity and science, who aspires to one day be as good a leader as those who support me, I want to say that, although I don't know where the world will take me from now on, but for now, at this point in history, I am grateful and proud to say:

I'm an IBMer and I work at the leading humanities company in the world.

Thank you, IBM.