Cohort Stories: Meet Amanda B.
vol. 6, no. 11 — guest post by Amanda Bazelais
I am proud to be a multiracial Thai and African American woman. I feel like I have the best of both worlds with learning the Thai culture of my mother and being born here in America, learning American history. I wouldn’t be the woman I am today if it weren’t for my parents instilling the importance of hard work but to never lose sight of who I am. My mother has been an inspiration to me because she came to the states when she was young and continued to work hard to provide for her family. I admire and appreciate my father because he is a strong man that served in the Air Force and made the sacrifices necessary to provide for his family. I cannot forget my blended family I received once my father married my stepmother many years ago. Without her, I wouldn’t be who I am today as well.
Ever since I was little, I always had an interest in technology. I was curious about how things worked. I would help my mother fix the VCRs and when I would take them apart, I was fascinated by the inner workings and curious about how it made a video tape play. As I got older, I liked computers and would figure out how they worked. I would learn how to fix them when something went wrong. Fast forward to now, once I started learning about front end development and designing, I was all in. It was an easy decision for me to choose Information Technology when I had the chance to go back to school. I’ve enjoyed learning new programming languages and building fun projects to improve my skills. I’m excited to continue learning, building, and working with other Software Engineers.
I envision my time with Hack.Diversity as an experience and opportunity for me to learn how to network, build new friendships, and thrive in a new support system.
I hope to learn from others as well as be able to impact other people’s lives with the knowledge that I’ve gained. I want to take full advantage of all the tools and cherish my time at the Fellowship. I’m excited to get started and I appreciate this opportunity with Hack.Diversity!
