Participant Story: Oubah
Oubah is one of the participants of our six-month software engineering program! She sat down with Techtonica volunteer Mel Burke to share her story. You can support her journey at techtonica.org/donate.
Tell us a little about where you’re from and where you grew up.
I grew up Northern part of Somalia, which is now known as Somaliland. Being a woman in Somalia and having a dream, you have to fight a battle against your community. Nobody will believe in you; you have to believe in yourself all the way. The first time somebody believed in me is when I came to America.
What made you decide to apply for Techtonica?
I applied for Techtonica because it fit me. I didn’t have to alter myself. When I was looking for a bootcamp in San Francisco, they were all super expensive. I was out here by myself and I didn’t have support from my family. I went to the library and found out about Techtonica and was like, “This is the opportunity I’ve been dreaming of.”
Over the past six years, I went to school but always had to stop after a few credits. Living in the Bay Area is expensive and, I used to think to myself, “If someone could just pay to help me out, I could really focus.”
This program is a blessing and I’m going to accept it.
What are you most excited to learn while in the program?
I have a business idea and I wanted to make a product that I would sell online. So I went to see how much it would cost to hire someone to make a website for me, and it was expensive. So then I tried to learn myself. The last 6 months I was on all the websites trying to learn how to code and actually I liked it. And I’m already good at languages — I speak 3 — that this is just another language to learn. It’ll be nice to do my website.
Is there anything you want to change about the tech industry specifically?
If I could disrupt one area it would be social media, like Facebook. I believe it lowers people’s confidence because they are always comparing themselves to one another. You get on a social network and everything’s bad, at the end of the day it feels like the world’s about to end.
What’s your dream project?
I want to build an e-commerce website for a product idea I have.
You can see Oubah tell her story at our launch celebration here.
If you or your company might be interested in supporting program participants like Oubah, please donate at techtonica.org/donate or take a look at techtonica.org/sponsor.
