Cohort Stories: Meet Alejandro B.
vol. 5, no. 7 — guest post by Alejandro Brito
Being born in the Dominican Republic, my access to technology was very limited. I distinctly remember my first time browsing the internet at an internet cafe that cost 100 pesos an hour; a small price my single mother was willing to pay to keep her sons occupied. It wasn’t until 2005 that we came to the United States with immigrant visas; I was just 7 years old. Life at first was difficult. Being an immigrant and single parent meant my mom had to work two jobs to provide. Watching my mother struggle has definitely influenced me, and she is my motivation. I have been blessed with so many opportunities that simply weren’t possible back home, but I always remind myself where my roots are and to remain humble. As cliché as it sounds, I feel like anything is possible; especially looking back where I came from. I still have family living in the Dominican Republic and they motivate me every day to make them proud.
My first real experience with the inner workings of computers was learning how P2P protocols work in a torrent client. I knew that the torrents worked when I extracted them, but I was interested in how the system worked and what were the risks involved in a peer to peer system. My mother always yelled at me “not to get viruses on her computer!” Since then, I have been interested in the software aspect of technology. This was more deeply rooted when I took robotics my freshman year of high school. Many students going to college out of high school are uncertain of what kind of career they see a future in, but I was not one of them. I enrolled at my local community college as a computer science major.
I have always had a deep passion for anything tech-related. What I find most exciting is that it is a continuously evolving field that we are only seeing a fraction of its potential.
I heard about Hack.Diversity in Fall 2019 from my professor, but wanted more experience from my coursework before applying. Hack.Diversity’s objective was something I had not encountered before. I think it is extraordinary that an organization can have people from so many different backgrounds come together and not only support each other, but create a professional network of underrepresented talent. The career advice and technical skills training that Hack.Diversity offers is very enticing as well. I cannot wait to attend my first de.Hackathon.
I believe diversity is a crucial element in creating a successful and equal workforce, especially in tech.
Fast forward to Fall 2020, I graduated with my Associate’s and was eager to get work experience, so I applied to be a Hack Fellow. I cannot wait to not only show what I myself can accomplish, but also to be a part of something that works to address problems POC face in the workforce.
