Hi, I’m Selina.

I’m a Python developer and community builder from Canada with a background in management consulting. The business world was exciting and challenging, but after some soul-searching, I realized I wanted to contribute to building real, useful things myself, rather than merely advise people in the arena.

After internships in wealth management at Canada’s largest bank and in the office of the CEO at a portfolio company of a private equity firm, I graduated from the Honours Business Administration program at the Ivey Business School at the University of Western Ontario. The HBA program is distinctive for using Harvard Business School’s case method of teaching at the undergraduate level - a pedagogical method usually reserved for graduate-level business education. After being recruited from university by Deloitte, I began a career in business strategy consulting in Toronto, Canada.

Management consulting requires sharp analytical skills, an ability to see the bigger picture, high quality deliverables for clients’ eyes, and the ability to communicate your ideas confidently with everyone from senior partners to clients. My business foundations were strong, and I excelled at and enjoyed some of that work, but I wasn’t finding much satisfaction in it. I needed more from my career - I wanted to work on things where I could have directly see the impact of my work.

I took a long career break to figure out what I really wanted to do with my life, and to focus on my health. I used that time to travel, volunteer, try new hobbies, acquire new skills, and explore other career options. To keep searching rather than go back to work before I was had my answers was the scariest decision I’ve ever made in my life, but which I can confidently say was the right choice. This was a period of intense growth, and now that I’m on the other side of that, I not only have a sense of clarity and direction, but energy and drive at a level that I have never had before.

It helps to have found what you love doing.

During my career break, I tried web development and fell in love with it. It allowed me to use many of my natural strengths, plus it was impactful, challenging, and fun. I especially enjoyed building with Python and Django, and the communities around these technologies kept me coming back, and excited to contribute to them. I joined PyLadies Toronto as an organizer, and recently volunteered for DjangoCon Europe in Athens, Greece. I plan to be full-stack eventually, but I also like to explore and experiment with other areas of tech, for example microcontrollers. Web development was something I could see myself doing - and enjoying - for the long term.

I want to keep doing work that satisfies me, and live my life boldly.

I decided to move to the UK and begin my tech career there, after meeting some great folks in the tech scene in London. I acquired long-term work authorization for the UK (2 years plus renewal), and plan to move there in August 2026. I’m now looking for back-end roles based in the UK, preferably in London, and preferably working with Django.

I still try to keep up with many of my new hobbies, but these days I stick to my favourites: travelling, reading classic literature, going to the theatre, and doing all manner of nature sports.