An Exceptional Beginning! — My Experience as a Scholar with Learn IT, Girl
Some years ago, I was working as an accounting specialist in a company where I was considered a “problem solver.” We were migrating to a new software application and it was going badly when my manager looked at me and said, “we need a programmer!” I responded, “why are you looking at me? I know nothing about programming!” But his comment stuck with me. Later, I was in school studying to become an accountant when I was reminded of his question and decided to try my hand at information technology.
I was in my third year of college — one year from graduation when I started having a meltdown about the major that I had chosen. I had no faith in the field of accounting, was totally bored with my job and thought about the bland future that accounting would offer me. I shared my concern with my academic advisor who suggested that I take a course in a programming language to see if I would like it and do well in it. I took a course in Java and felt that I had found my true love — programming! So, I changed my major to web development, sat with my advisor and arranged my classes so that I could graduate the following year as planned. I was a pretty good student, so I was approved to take three and four classes per semester (the norm is two classes per semester). It was intense and I no longer had a social life, but I was happy.
Once I graduated and started applying for jobs, I lost my confidence pretty fast. My applications were rejected because of my lack of experience; so I decided to stay in accounting while I hone my skills in programming. I joined a Facebook group named “Learn to Code with Me” (formerly called “Newbie Coder Warehouse”) and I saw a post about the Learn IT, Girl project. I applied immediately (in January 2019), but when I did not hear back from them in a month, I figured that I was not selected for the program and continued to develop on my own.
On March 4, 2019, I received an email inviting me to become a scholar in the Learn IT, Girl project. I screamed with excitement, immediately accepted the invitation and became a mentee.
At the beginning of the project, my mentor, Khushboo Peswani, asked me to send suggestions for a project. I was torn and immediately began to worry that I did not have the skillset to actually develop an application, no matter the language. She helped me weigh the pros and cons of my suggestions and make a decision. Once the project was selected, she asked me to research suitable platforms to build the application. I was thinking to myself “how on earth would I know this? I’m a beginner!” But rather than balk at the assignment, I dug right into the research because I wanted to learn everything that I could.
I selected Google as the platform and Khushboo agreed and we discussed the reasoning behind our decision. Next, we discussed suitable programming languages and determined that JavaScript would be best. I knew there would be a learning curve, as I studied Java in school and had no experience using JavaScript. Thankfully, Learn IT, Girl has tutorials on web development that Khushboo assigned for me to study. She also provided informational links, YouTube videos and we had numerous conversations via Google Hangouts and email to enhance my understanding. As we began to outline our approach to the application, Khushboo brought to my attention that all of the assignments and tutorials that I had completed up to this point had prepared me to develop the application. Yay!
We were in the development phase of the project when my sister called and said that she was overwhelmed with planning her wedding. Their wedding date was set for June 15, 2019, and the completion of my LITG project was due the very next day. So, on our next call, I mentioned the wedding situation to Khushboo, and she said that her sister-cousin was getting married soon also, and we’d work through both; so not to worry. I was relieved.
As I worked through the assignments and saw the application coming together, I got even more excited. My app could speak! How cool is that?! We worked all the way up to the day of my sister’s wedding. I was in the bridal suite making minor tweaks and finalizing my app — all while getting my hair and makeup done.
Take-aways:
• I overcame my learning curve with tutorials, studying and mentor guidance and support.
• I learned to be more flexible with myself, stepped up my game and used good time management skills.
• I gained more confidence in career possibilities by learning to create a real-world application.
• Having a skilled mentor to coach me through the process, answer all of my questions and address my concerns was priceless.
Learn IT, Girl has been a phenomenal experience for me! And I am still floored about how much I learned using JavaScript! If you have a dream of working in the field of technology, seek out an opportunity to become a scholar with Learn IT, Girl. You will be amazed when you see the fruition of your hard work.
About the App:
The idea for the app came from a conversation that I had with a former employer and my own experiences with erratic, unsafe drivers trying to rule the roads with bad behavior. The app has the potential of bringing safety back to our roads.
Report a Reckless Driver (https://github.com/kellymccain140/learn-it-girl-project.git) is a mobile app that alerts drivers and local authorities in the immediate area of an unsafe driver. The app can be used virtually anywhere in the world.
Technologies used to implement the product:
- JavaScript
- Node
- Google DialogFlow & Firebase Database
- Git & GitHub
