By opening the door for everyone coming behind her.

Fatima Ceesay Lopez was only 14 when she moved from Spain to the UK. New country, new language, new culture, and more questions than answers. But in those early days of uncertainty, she found a quiet determination that would shape everything to come.

Years later, she joined JPMorgan Chase through their graduate apprenticeship programme, taking on a challenge many wouldn’t dare by working full time while studying Software Engineering at the University of Strathclyde. After four years of early mornings, late nights, and relentless focus, she graduated with a First-Class Honours degree.

But Fatima’s story isn’t just about her own success. It’s about making the path clearer for those who feel overlooked. She mentors students, visits high schools, and speaks at outreach events so young people from underrepresented backgrounds can see themselves in tech. From TeenTech to the Social Mobility Foundation, she has shown up, time and again, to remind others that they belong here too.

Inside her firm, she has been just as committed. As Glasgow Lead for BOLD, JPMorgan’s Black Organisation for Leadership and Development, she has helped create spaces where culture is celebrated, careers are nurtured, and community thrives.

In 2024, her work was recognised with the Sir Geoff Palmer Outstanding Student of the Year Award at the Black Scottish Awards, and the Rising Star Award at the Scottish Financial Services Awards. And this year, she returns as a judge — ready to lift up others who are blazing their own trails.

Fatima proves that resilience can start small, with a young girl in a new country, and grow into something that changes lives.