Participant Story: Thana
Thana 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 was born and raised in the East Bay and have spent my whole life in a small town with lots of hills. I’ve been seeing a lot of diversity growth over the years but also a lot of homelessness. Even in my small town we’re seeing a lot more different types of people from different backgrounds, which is great, but it used to be we only had one or two homeless people that everyone knew. Now, that’s not the case. It’s probably one of the most noticeable changes I’ve seen in my community.
What made you decide to apply for Techtonica?
I have a Bachelor’s of Science in game art and design. After college, I had been trying to find work in the game industry for several years with little to no luck. Freelance work was too sparse and retail couldn’t cover my bills, so I was looking for a new direction. Right around the time I was reevaluating my options a friend of mine shared a link to Techtonica on social media, and it was exactly what I needed.
What are you most excited to learn while in the program?
Techtonica isn’t a huge switch for me, it’s more about broadening my skillset. Prior to this my main experience was C# scripting in Unity, so my coding background is very specific to game development. I’m excited to have more opportunities with broader skills that will allow me to pursue more than just one type of job.
Also I’m excited to maintain a network of friends and colleagues so we can all help each other find our calling in the industry. There’s a huge focus at Techtonica on networking. There’s required networking events and required connections you have to make — and they want you to follow through on your connections.
Is there anything you want to change about the tech industry specifically?
I would like to see companies stop prioritizing work output over their employee’s health. I think while it’s important for people to do moderate crunches occasionally, there appears to be a norm of working 50–60 hours or more per week. People aren’t getting benefits and don’t have job security. It’s really discouraging for anyone, but especially for a marginalized person—you look at this industry and think “There’s no way I’m going to survive.” You see how workers are treated and the immediate assumption is, “They’re going to throw me under the bus as soon as I’m not financially viable.”
So, I would love to see workers be more respected and treated like human beings and not machines.
What’s your dream project?
I have too many dreams to count, but I would love to work on a project that primarily exists to amplify and empower the voices of marginalized people who wish to express themselves on both a creative and technical level.
I also love community projects and seeing lots of different people coming in to share their perspectives. I would love to see more physical galleries for game developers and digital artists to show off their work. I know they have some in San Francisco and Oakland where they display their game right there and you can see the connection between their passion and their life and identity.
You can see Thana tell her story at our launch celebration here.
If you or your company might be interested in supporting program participants like Thana, please donate at techtonica.org/donate or take a look at techtonica.org/sponsor.
