July 28, 2005
Miss Ethiopia, Supergeek
This Wired piece was so good that I am just going to shamelessly steal it.
There was a time when Atetegeb Tetfaye Worku was content to be perhaps the best-looking network engineer on the Horn of Africa. But this May afternoon Miss Ethiopia is one of 81 beauty queens rehearsing in Bangkok for the 54th Miss Universe competition...Backstage, the contestants - or delegates, as they are officially known - chatter in dozens of languages. Worku, 24, is talking about her job installing computer networks. She's a willowy 5'9" with long black hair, a blinding smile, and excellent posture...
In 2001, she earned a diploma in computer science in Addis Ababa. "After college, I was accepted into a program organized by the United Nations Commission for Africa," she says in lilting English. "Part of that training was Cisco networking" ...
Like many Miss Universe delegates, she wants to improve the lives of others. (This year's winner, Miss Canada, is devoting herself to combatting HIV and AIDS.) "If we can produce more computer specialists in Ethiopia, then we can do what Singapore and India are doing," Worku says, moments before she is called away to rejoin the other contestants for a rehearsal of the swimsuit procession.
Posted by aheavens at July 28, 2005 5:34 AM