When There’s a Fork in The Road, Do What The Internet Tells You
**Just kidding. Make sure you always validate all your research!
First of all, I want to thank everyone for supporting CodeNow. A few months ago, we decided to place our students’ stories as a centerpiece for our blog because let’s face it, our students are pretty awesome! I am so lucky to be a part of such an impactful organization, where I am inspired everyday by my co-workers, our volunteers, and our students.
Here is my story…
If we were to rewind and look back at my own high school experience, I never would have imagined myself where I am today. While I would have fit perfectly into CodeNow’s student demographics as a woman exploring the tech industry, I simply didn’t have the access to such a program. Not once did my teachers emphasize the importance of technology, but that’s not because they didn’t care for it. I guess part of it was technology seemed like a scary nuisance during my teenage years. I remember being the first person on my street to have access to the internet. I was the first person in my class to have a Facebook account. I was even the first person in my group of friends who knew the trick to watching The O.C. a day before it aired on TV (RIP Marissa). But truth be told, I kind of thought that the internet just existed.
So how did I go from being someone who was simply a consumer and power user to being someone who advocates for the tech industry? You see, I had a really bad science teacher in the 3rd grade (I’m looking at you 👀 Mrs. Long). She gave me a C on a “science” project. And when you’re in the 3rd grade, making an anatomically correct model of a bee just isn’t pretty enough to be deserving of an A+. Well, I hate to say it but I haven’t liked science ever since.
By the time I got to high school, I was still trying to figure out what I wanted to do when I “grew up”.
“Become an engineer, like me!” my dad said to me once. He only said that to me once because I laughed in his face before he was even able to complete the sentence. But the crazy thing is that it wasn’t the thought of pursuing math and science that seemed daunting, it was picturing myself as and engineer that seemed odd. And I guess because of that, I never really forced myself to give science another shot, which is something that I still regret because I was actually really good at math, and I actually love science now.
Fast forward a few years, I was teaching English to a group of elementary school students in Hong Kong when I began to find myself wondering, why do kids have cell phones these days? When did the Facebook app become an actual app? Why is Instagram so easy to use? Why am I even asking these questions??? I had questions that needed to be answered and so, I returned to the U.S. in search of them.
Ok, maybe I didn’t actually come back for that specific reason but I did manage to find my way into discovering user experience design. I became an instant addict. Not only that, I was addicted to innovation. I followed high profile Twitter accounts and signed up for online courses. I even completed a bootcamp for UX design. But the same question kept popping up: do I actually need to code? After all, I’m just a girl who has avoided math and science her entire life. This is technically math and science. Would I be crossing some sort of boundary if I were to actually play with code?
You see, each and every one of us feel self-doubt. We form barriers around unchartered territory. But that is exactly why I find my colleagues and the CodeNow community to be so inspiring. We work nonstop to break down these unspoken barriers. Whether it be a student who came to the U.S., using code as a way to make friends or a fashion model who wants to empower young women through code, we all believe that your past prejudices doesn’t have to keep you from achieving as long as you are willing to break through those prejudices.
I still find coding intimidating but I’m slowly learning more everyday. I don’t want to be the person who asks, “can you just make this happen on the website?” Because we all know that no one just makes something happen. It takes logical planning and precise implementation.
Ultimately, what it boils down to is my own willingness to get my hands dirty. And that is what CodeNow represents to me. I talk to students everyday about their dream apps, and I help them realize that it doesn’t have to be a dream. They can make it happen if they are willing to get their hands dirty and write their own story!
Thanks for checking out my story and don’t forget to read up on what our alumni are up to! If you are interested in supporting CodeNow by making a donation or partnering with us, please write us at hello@codenow.org.
