Cohort Stories: Meet Javier
vol. 6, no. 63 — guest post by Javier Fernandez
Growing up, I was regularly labeled the “quiet” kid. At its core, there was nothing wrong with me. I just so happened to have an introverted temperament, but the public school culture I grew up in seemed to idolize the audacious and outgoing. This made me feel out of place, and I suffered with insecurity for several years. Through it all, I remained focused on doing well in school. At the tail-end of my senior year in high school, I was fortunate enough to receive the Jack Welch Scholarship: A full-ride for 4 years at Salem State University. Over time, I’ve become comfortable with my identity and am proud to have superior talent in areas such as analytical thinking, staying composed under pressure, striving for objectivity and keeping an open-mind: All areas that can translate well into a career in Data Analytics — my chosen track at Hack.Diversity.
I’ve always been interested in technology, and am excited about the advancements that will be made in the future. Data will invariably play a big role in that, and I envision myself being heavily involved in an organization’s data team. Naturally, as someone who grew up in Boston, I was very into sports and whenever watching a game on tv, I am intrigued by some of the stats that are shown during the broadcast. Now I know that there’s a huge database with a vast amount of information that gets queried in the background and eventually leads to what is presented. I first got introduced to SQL in the later half of college and have continued exploring it post-graduation, learning from a variety of online resources.
I enjoy the process of solving coding problems — it’s like fitting puzzle pieces together and is satisfying when it outputs precisely what I wanted!
As a Hack.Diversity Fellow, I have an incredible opportunity in front of me. I know from first-hand experience that the industry and career path I’m seeking to get into is highly competitive. It’s difficult to get in without graduating from a big name school and not having all the connections that can get your foot in the door. I’m grateful to be given a shot to work for a Boston tech company and get plenty of career training throughout Hack’s programming over the next 8 months. I look forward to getting to know the many people in the Hack community and building strong relationships that will last well past my time as a Fellow. This expansion of my network could even lead to more opportunities in the future. I’m determined to make the most out of my experience with Hack.Diversity and accelerate my career to new heights!
