Participant Story: Stephanie
Stephanie is one of the participants of our six-month software engineering program! You can support her journey at techtonica.org/donate.
“Tech” and “the Mission” are two things you hear a lot about if you’ve spent any amount of time in San Francisco over the last few years. Unfortunately, there’s been some strife between them. Stephanie, a first generation American whose parents immigrated from Mexico, is incredibly familiar with this fact. But she’s also incredibly enthusiastic about the opportunity tech presents for the community she’s lived in for almost a decade.
“I understand the hostility toward tech, but it’s something that could benefit everyone,” she said, explaining that she sees tech skills as a way to keep families in their communities and bring more women like herself into STEM careers. “It could be a very empowering thing.”
Stephanie, who graduated with a degree in ethnic studies, was working for a local charter school when she discovered her own interest in frontend development while working on the school’s WordPress site. That spark of enjoyment and curiosity grew, and she eventually left her job to complete a 16-week tech training program with Mission Techies, a program with the Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA).
According to MEDA’s website, more than 8,000 Latinx people have been forced to leave their homes in the last decade as the Mission becomes a more expensive place to live. Programs like Mission Techies aim to help Latinx people and families stay in the Mission and thrive.
“I feel more optimistic about tech and the Mission because when you enter other industries, it’s traditional. There are people who’ve been there for a while with names you recognize,” Stephanie said. “In tech, it’s fairly new and progressive and growing and not going anywhere.”
Stephanie’s sense of optimism drove her to assist in setting up a new organization that helps local young adults learn professional soft skills, programming, and hardware skills.
Over the last year, Stephanie has spent her time bridging the gap between the Mission community and tech — and now she’s going to take the time to further develop her own skill set through Techtonica.
“Techtonica will create a good atmosphere for me to feel okay. Having all women makes me feel really comfortable,” she said, adding that the cost of other bootcamps was a barrier for her since she doesn’t have family who can offset living expenses. “In tech, you can learn and bring a new generation of wealth.”
If you or your company might be interested in supporting program participants like Stephanie, please donate at techtonica.org/donate or look at techtonica.org/sponsor.
To read about our other participants, please click on their names below:
