Participant story: Lex

“I’m looking forward to applying the skills I learn in order to create websites/applications that can be of use to others.”

1) Tell us a little about your life.
I immigrated from the Philippines when I was 5 years old and was the youngest of 5 children raised by a single mother. I have always aspired to be like my oldest sibling who studied hard, worked hard, and is now successfully raising his two children with his wife. I started working at Target while going to school full-time to earn an Animations Degree from City College of San Francisco, but had to switch to part-time study when I accepted a full-time leadership position at work. I was then introduced to programming and the tech world by my friend Armando, who was passionate about what he did. It was then that I knew I needed to find a way back into my studies, and so I started studying on my own whenever I could.

2) What made you decide to pursue a software engineering career and apply for Techtonica?
Working in retail has shown me a lot of the income inequality that is currently plaguing underrepresented communities, so I appreciate the goals Techtonica has and the approach they take to ensure their participants are successful. I wanted to have a community’s help and support through a rigorous program, and serve as a representation of what underrepresented demographics can achieve.

3) What are you most excited to learn while at Techtonica?
I am excited about learning how to work cooperatively and how to effectively communicate with others in order to attain the necessary knowledge of what working in tech is like. I’m also looking forward to applying the skills I learn in order to create websites/applications that can be of use to others.

4) What do you want to contribute to or change about the tech industry?
I want to contribute my skills, knowledge, and viewpoint. I wish to show everyone that any demographic has the capacity and capability to enter the tech industry.

5) What’s your dream project?
Machine learning has always intrigued me, so someday I want to make a meaningful website that incorporates it in some way. Building a user-friendly website with intuitive design and layout is a project I’ve always wanted to do.