The Path to Coding: Operation Code DC Welcomes Code.gov to Their October Meetup
Following the momentum of the GW Hack Day, Code.gov’s Joe Castle shared the stage with Marsel Gray and Stuart Hanberg at the October meetup for Operation Code: DC. If you do not know the group or its mission, Operation Code is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping transitioning military, military spouses, and veterans learn software development, enter the tech industry, and code. After a brief hiatus, the Washington, D.C., branch of Operation Code has returned with regular monthly meetups. These get-togethers serve as a networking opportunity between former military and military families with leaders and pioneers in the tech industry, as well as moments of education. Speakers were sharing their own stories about how they transitioned from a soldier’s life to a coder’s life, and for Joe, it was his own unexpected story of circumstances that led him to Code.gov.
The October meetup for Operation Code: DC began with Marsel Gray, Army Medic turned Web Developer. Now applying his talents for NJI Media, Marsel shared with the group his own positive experience with a Full Stack Web Development bootcamp, a collection of courses and seminars that led to his degree. Marsel passed along warnings on going full time with academic pursuits while trying to manage family life. “It’s not a decision you make lightly,” he said. His own experiences, even the frustrating ones earned in the job hunt itself, offered a sense of optimism on making the jump into the technology industry.
Next up was Stuart Hanberg, bringing his civilian experience in web design to this military crowd. As Art Director at Decipher Tech Studios, Stuart is well aware of the various challenges facing artists and developers of all levels, from print to web to app development. That was where he focused his (first-ever) talk: Elements of Good Design. By focusing on core design principles used to design user interfaces — layout, color, and typography — Stuart gave attendees a glimpse at the UX industry. Stuart did not mince words: design is hard. Along with talent and creativity, design demands patience. For a debut talk, Stuart was frank and informative.
Finally, Joe Castle from Code.gov stepped up to present. Joe brought the audience into his own personal journey from fulfilling a service to his country to doing the same on the digital front with Code.gov. His presentation was more than just an introduction to his own life lessons and Code.gov on a whole. Joe also delved into the history of the government and its long-time relationship with open source, a topic that garnered a good amount of Q&A for him at the close of the night.
Continuing a month of special events featuring Code.gov, this October Meetup with Operation Code: DC was a terrific opportunity for transitioning military, military spouses, and civilians to network and find out more about opportunities in the field of design and technology. From the road ahead in circulating resumes and broadening skill sets to the many coding avenues to explore through Code.gov, this — our first affiliation with Operation Code: DC — was an overwhelmingly constructive, positive experience, an excellent precursor to a future event coming in December. (Stay tuned.) We now look ahead to All Things Open in Raleigh, NC, and hope you can join us at one of our future events. If you are ready to explore Code.gov, take a look at our Open Tasks to see how you can contribute to America’s Code. If you have an event you would like to see us appear at or would like to talk to us about appearing at a meetup, visit us on Twitter or LinkedIn. We want to hear of your challenges, answer questions you may have for us, and offer you a chance to make a difference, to innovate, and to create.
Code on.
