Mikiah Miller grew up living the military life. Both of her parents served, and that meant a lot of moving. As she got older, she knew she wanted to follow in her father’s footsteps by joining the U.S. Navy.
After graduating from high school, Miller focused on her goal of serving in the Navy. She lost 40 pounds and was ready to start her military career. Everything changed when an unfortunate series of health issues forced her to take a medical discharge before she could finish boot camp. That dream was over before it even began, but she didn’t give up on herself.
She had to find a new path.
Miller moved to Metro Atlanta and graduated from Dutchtown School in Hampton, Georgia. After graduating high school, Miller’s family moved to Lawrenceville, where she currently resides with her dad, Ken, a retired U.S. Navy officer, and her stepmom, Vera, a retired paralegal, who she calls Mimi. Both are pastors. Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, Miller and her family moved to Georgia when she was three years old. Her mother, Mary, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, passed on Miller’s seventh birthday from colon cancer.
During the moving, she developed a natural knack for technology. She was the go-to in the family for problems with the cable, internet and their phones. When the family settled in Lawrenceville, it was her father who discovered Georgia Gwinnett College and encouraged her to explore the robust information technology program and enroll.
“I enrolled as an IT major with just a bag of belongings and a lot of questions about what my future would hold,” she recalls.
When she moved into her room on campus, it was her first real taste of being on her own, but she made the most of it.
“I remember knocking on every single door in my dorm suite, meeting new people and excitedly introducing myself as the wide-eyed 18-year-old eager to make friends,” she laughs.
She soon landed a job as a student assistant at the GGC IT help desk, which would turn out to be pivotal for her. The role gave her the confidence to work hands-on with technology, build relationships, and understand the importance of customer service. She even learned to drive by delivering equipment and troubleshooting using the help desk’s golf cart.
“Looking back, it’s funny to think that I found my footing not just on campus but on GGC’s sidewalks, zipping around in that golf cart,” she laughs.
She says she suffered through the usual growing pains of a young adult, but GGC kept her grounded, which made all the difference.
“GGC was my anchor and kept my goals fresh in my head,” she says.
She was accepted into the honors program in her sophomore year. As a junior, she was accepted into GGC’s internship program, which led to working in the IT department at Hebron Christian Academy. That led to a corporate internship with Cox Enterprises the summer before her senior year.
During her senior year, she became president of Women in Technology, an Atlanta-based nonprofit created to empower girls and women to excel in science, technology, engineering, the arts and math (STEAM), and was awarded a $15,000 scholarship. The recognition reinforced her commitment to empowering other women in the field.
“The sense of camaraderie with my peers and support from the IT faculty made me feel part of something bigger – a tight-knit community that celebrates each other’s growth and accomplishments,” she says.
She says there were undoubtedly times she questioned if she’d handled the challenges put before her as an undergraduate as well as she could, but each experience taught her what it truly means to be a leader.
“A leader is not someone who has all the answers, but someone who listens, supports and inspires others,” she says.
After graduation, Miller hopes to secure an IT job within the local or federal government. Her long-range goal is to earn her doctorate and become an IT professor.
