Cohort Stories: Meet Jhonatan
vol. 5, no 47 — guest post by Jhonatan Charco
Feeling the early wind of the morning I hear my father’s steps approaching my bedroom when asking me to wake up and get dressed. The sun had not yet risen and my sleeping eyes along with my long yawning were begging me to come back to bed yet my father’s voice was asking me to get in the car fast. After driving half an hour we arrived at the store located inside an industrial shed with few ventilation and not light from the outside. It was impossible to know what time of the day it was from the inside and then I checked my old watch and it pointed to 3:30 am. ‘Well it’s going to be a long day’, I thought to myself. My mother along with my sister were rushing to set up the clothing store before the first customers arrived. A noisy cash register located in the corner of the store was my favorite place since I was able to play with the buttons without knowing how the system worked. A basic input command of an embedded system that I would come to learn years later. Seeing my family work long hours everyday made me first think about how technology could be used as a helpful tool.
One day after work I told my parents about my dream to get an education in the United States, but they doubted the idea since Venezuela was going through a severe economic crisis making it almost impossible. After months of work and with some luck, they agreed to let me come to Boston; a decision that would change my life forever.
Full of excitement, I arrived in the city without knowing the language nor having family or friends, but full of dreams to turn my family’s life around.
Starting at the first level of english was a challenge, but it turns out that tutorials on youtube along with other web tools can be helpful when they are used correctly. My english improved alongside my desire to continue my educational path in science. Bunker Hill Community College was my first college experience, but a financial strike would change my plans making me search for alternative options. While studying business I would search for coding tutorials, trying to grasp some information. But my favorite part was hearing from students who joined Hack.Diversity and learning about all of the possibilities in the tech industry.
Before completing my degree in business concentration at Bunker Hill, I worked on a renewable energy project which would lead me back in the science field — computer engineering. Scared to start over, I hesitated to switch careers. But with the support of my family and friends, a growing curiosity motivated me to apply to Northeastern University’s computer engineering program. Months later, I started the program barely understanding the basic concepts, but with the willingness to improve (for which online tutorials were again a helpful tool of learning). Everyone has different ways of learning and I believe online tools provide alternative options which can boost everyone’s potential.
A year later, everything changed after the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world; disproportionately leaving people out of work, changing living styles and killing over a million people. Today, more than ever, technology is playing an important role in creating the new present and future, which makes me hopeful to be able to contribute and help in the near future. When I first thought of learning about computers I wanted to ease my family’s work while learning about new technology like data science and artificial intelligence.
But as I progress in my education, I understand the wider impact that technology can bring to many countries, industries, and people’s lives. I hope that one day I can bring technology into Venezuela for more people to benefit from a tool that today is changing the world.
