CodeHer #5 Nathalia Rus
An Instagram Inspiration for Young Women in Tech
Female computer scientists, techies, developers and programmers. The CodeHers series takes a look at godmothers of tech from the past, along with our students, the tech giantesses of the future. We caught up with current student Nathalia Rus to hear how she’s influencing girls around the world, through her Yeahgirlscode feed. With an organic following at nearly 15,000, she’s proud to inspire teenage girls to try coding for themselves.
Discount for Women
Another step we’ve taken is our discount: we offer 10% off the Codeworks course fees for women at our Barcelona Bootcamp. Until we’re teaching both male and female students, in a healthy 50/50 split, we have work to do, positively discriminating towards female applicants.
Coding is just one string to her bow, (she’s musical too). Nathalia’s interests cover art, technology, and the odd midnight swim. Inspired by Angelina Jolie, the ex-CEO of Yahoo, as well as her intrepid father, there’s no stopping this ‘CodeHer’ from her next adrenaline hit.
Nathalia, tell us about you.
I’m from Paris, France. I studied Politics at The University of Edinburgh, which has nothing to do with Coding. I’m also into arts. I have some experience in investment banking, in finance too, so it’s fair to say I have a very varied background!
At Codeworks I’m in the senior part right now and we’re putting into practice what we’ve learned in the junior part.
Tell us 5 cool facts about yourself:
Okay, where to start? I like to push my limits and try new things. Me and my flatmate decided to get into fighting in Edinburgh. We entered a fighting match, where we were the first female fighters, that was crazy.
I like to compose music. I did eleven years in French Conservatories, I think everyone should learn music, it’s another kind of maths.
Hmm, what else? Sometimes I can feel a bit anxious when I don’t sleep. Applications like ‘Calm’ help. Technology can have a really positive effect on human beings!
I’m loving my Spanish chapter. I think Barcelona is the perfect place to learn how to code intensively.
I like to swim at night. The pace of the learning course is extremely intense. You can work hard but it doesn’t feel like torture! If I had been in a city like London it would have been very stressful, but here at midnight I go to the beach, go for a swim and I can really disconnect. I can let my hair down, it feels really natural.
Is there a quote that inspires you?
There are so many quotes on Instagram, but the one that resonates is from Angelina Jolie. It says ‘‘I am very happy and excited when my adrenaline is going’’.
Angelina’s quote reminds me that you should always push yourself. Never get complacent, keep learning. Make the most of the life! Coding is great for that.
What’s your proudest achievement?
I’m proud to have received so many messages from women and girls that have inspired them to get into tech. I got a message from a girl who had never coded before, she just stumbled across my account, a blonde girl, just a few months after I set it up. She said now she’s a developer, she’s in a bootcamp herself, so she’s a coder now.
I actually get a lot of these messages and I think wow, I’m having an impact. I’m actually doing something that is helpful for some people in some way.
Instagram is an inspiring app. All these quotes, challenges, and role models are being made accessible to everyone. It’s another example like Calm, of technology positively impacting people’s lives.
And how is an average day at the bootcamp? How do you find time to post?
I wake up at 8:30 am, I rush into our free breakfast, have fruit and coffee. You can have a chat and chill before the intense day starts. I start with a course at 9am, they give us a lot of resources online, they go deep where we get stuck. Then it’s tasks and challenges till midday. We have this freedom, but at the same time we meet deadlines with the tasks. You can ask other instructors in your batch for some help in whatever way, they, in turn, can ask you for your help.
I normally take lunch for half an hour, as I like to go with the flow and keep learning.
Everyone can find a rhythm which is unique to them, that’s the freedom I mentioned. In the afternoon, I keep going with course tasks. I have an afternoon snack, then the evening lecture starts, and I work until 9 when the day ends. I might post on Instagram, but only if I have a new lesson to share.
I’ll go for a run or swim and eat fairly late, then work on a side project, it’s a busy day! It’s really intense, but like the Angelina Jolie quote, those days are the most stimulating. You’re learning so much, but it’s done in a way that feels natural.
How do you find the Codeworks campus?
The campus is amazing, it’s five minutes from the sea. You feel it in the air, it’s so refreshing. The terrace is cool and no one is embarrassed to come outside to do exercise, or to jump up about, do push ups or just lie in the hammock. We can have a massage once a week. It’s great that you can just go for a run after coding and come back to your servers and you’re rested. There’s big space, there’s sun, it’s a good environment to help focus on coding.
Which female role models in tech inspire you?
Luckily there a lot of women in tech to inspire us, and there will be only be more in the future. Weirdly, I only discovered one quite recently, Marissa Mayer, Google’s 20th employee, and first female engineer.
Mayer made Google what it is now, and I only just heard of her! She was their first female engineer. She was CEO of Yahoo. She had key roles at Google maps and Streetview. She should be more widely recognised.
Why are your thoughts on the gender gap in tech?
I heard the ratio is 3 men to 1 woman; you need to interrogate the stats. It’s an interesting question because it’s 100% cultural.
It’s not just the job of the tech sector, but the job of everyone to improve the ratio of men to women in tech.
Politics follows culture right? We don’t see enough female senior politicians either. We need role models along the way, not just Lara Croft’s Tomb Raider. (When I was younger I played Tomb Raider, but I could have chosen another, real role model). So more role models need to be available, to suit different interests.
It’s hard but, we have to change culture. Even if it’s harder than going to the moon.
So how can social media help?
I think social media has a part to play here, it’s a good platform for changing perceptions, people can get inspired by anything, from 11 to 18. If women are following other women they like on Instagram, and those women happen to be interested in tech, these girls don’t have to overthink it, they can like a post, get inspired and give it a go. Girls spend a lot of time on social media, at a young age where they might not be planning their careers. If they like someone in tech, they can continue that interest in a light touch way to start with.
What makes you keep going?
I have ADHD; naturally I’ve always been on the go. I grew up spending time with my Dad, I’m close to him, I share his traits. He was an explorer so I’ve always had that busy, curious nature. I’m driven by a hunger for life, I don’t think it will diminish. It’s also why I don’t burn out.
So how do you focus?
Actually, there’s a misconception that people with ADHD can’t focus but it depends on what you’re doing. If I’m doing something I don’t care about I can’t focus. But some times I get into a hyper-focussed mode if I’m really interested, I can focus more than anyone else.
ADHD is a super power, it shouldn’t be stigmatised. Lots of badasses had ADHD, like Leoardo Da Vinci and various CEOs. There’s no lack of role models. It should be celebrated!
Which part of Codeworks do you love most?
I chose to be here for the full stack experience, I love feeling like I have full control of the frontend and backend. I’m loving frontend but backend fascinates me. There’s not one framework that I prefer over others. I love trying different flavours to see how I can adapt and learning from my peers.
During the junior part you learn different frameworks, Angular or React, you need to be able to adapt. Then in the secondary part, you can choose so you have this feeling of control, being able to choose it’s really empowering.
What’s next?
So many ideas. That’s the amazing thing about coding for curious people; you can use your skills in many different fields. I like to have a social impact so I’m interested in a start-up in healthcare or medtech, but at the same time I’m interested in VR which is an exciting space, especially in the arts. Or helping people with medical therapy. I love the space where tech meets art, but maybe this is more of a hobby! I’m focussing on my skills rather than a specific sector at this stage. After that, I’ll see in what ways I can make the most impact with my new skills.
So you’ve learnt all these new experiences. How would you sum up bootcamp so far?
Intense, Challenging. And intense.
Phew! Watch this space to see what Nathalia does next. For all 5 CodeHers, discover the full series here.
