Hey there, I’m Ilorna. I'm 58 and proud of it. I've been in IT for 39 years. I saythis not to be offensive or stubborn but to make a statement on behalf of myself and people in my age group and older.

First, for people who for some reason are being displaced in IT because of some silly perception that they can't or haven't kept up. Someof us remember our introduction to IT being the TRS-80. For me it was a mainframe clunker. I stumbled into IT in 1979, at 19 years old. I ran an NCR-8250 for ColorTyme TV and loved it. IT wasn't something I got into just for a job. I loved it from the beginning to now. IT is a huge part of me and I know it through and through. I love watching the field evolve and I love evolving with it. I've personally gone through several metamorphosis. Through the years I've​ had to be a manager, PMP, service manager, organizer, Scrum Master, and anything else there is to be able to raise a family, maintain a career in a field (IT) that did not welcome females, let alone a minority female. But, I not only maintained my career I flourish. I've done CSI in my family and my career. I put my family first and my employer first, i.e. I load balanced my life. So at 58 I'm still learning and improving my life and skill set. I recently acquired two in demand certs and I have plans to acquire several more. I'm growing, yes at my age, I'm growing. It's just another metamorphosis. And each time I emerge stronger, smarter, more knowledgeable. My skill set at a new peak and yes I am older than I was when I started, and ...better. I emerge confident that I am ready make a valuable contribution to my next employer.

Second, I'm sick of hiding my age and being made to feel it's something I should be ashamed. Everywhere I turn the advice is the same, take the years of graduation off my resume, dye my hair, wear a wig. The message being if I want to become employed I need to hide my age. Well no, just No. I earned my grey hair, and deserve the to wear my grey proudly. So many others didn't make it this far while I did. To me it's something to be proud of. And the fact that my hair is grey should not make my ability to contribute questionable, or my contribution less worthy. Some left us early, others fell by the wayside, some just quit. I did neither. I earned the right to wear and be proud of my grey hair. Why should I hide or be ashamed of thriving in Corporate America's IT world for 39 years. When things got difficult I didn't give up and g