Cohort Stories: Meet Melina
vol. 4, no. 47 — guest post by Melina Barzola
Coming from a family that did not have much of a background in the technology field, becoming comfortable pursuing a career in the field was a long process. For most of my high school career, I did not know what college major or field I wanted to go into. I had a hard time finding a passion of mine that could be translated into a career. It wasn’t until my senior year of high school in a business technology class that I was introduced to coding. This was a new world for me and as I experimented more with it, I began to develop a liking for it. During my freshman year of college, while still deciding a major, I learned how essential coding is in the current world and how it can be applied to a variety of fields such as science and engineering.
I believe that one of my most difficult challenges was going into a field that I had no familiarity or experience with. Being from a small town that lacked diversity, I was not well-versed on the career opportunities in the tech field. We did not have access to advanced technology or many courses relating to technology which limited our exposure and experience. When I began taking college courses, I became aware of how behind I was compared to other students in courses like computer science. This realization soon became a motivation that drove me to further improve myself and not let my past education define my future.
During my junior year of college, I began to learn the importance of social networking and building your own community to learn and grow as an individual. As I began to attend more events that were sponsored by my college, I was able to connect with people that had similar interests and experiences as me.
I was educated on the issue regarding the lack of women of color in the tech field and how important it is to motivate other women to give technology a try.
I also learned the value of mentorship and how useful it can be for not only people who are starting on their career after college but also for those who are seeking a new career path.
Through these experiences, I learned about mentorship programs and was inspired to be a part of one. I learned about Hack.Diversity through my cousin who was a part of the 2019 Cohort. Hearing about his experience and about the message that Hack.Diversity promotes made it seem like a great fit for me. In the future, I hope to be working with a team that believes in computing for a common good and encourages others to do so. I know that through Hack.Diversity I will be able to gain essential experience while also becoming a part of a meaningful community that inspires one another to grow and succeed in a field where they are not typically represented.
