Participant story: Yolis (she/her)
“My dream project would be to create an app for those who need assistance in either anxiety or depression for the Latinx community.”
1) Tell us a little about your life.
I’m a first generation Latina, born and raised in California. Coming from a low-income background, I was the translator and the one who guided my parents through everything, while being the older sibling and trying to figure out life on my own. Besides the financial hardships, high expectations, and obstacles I faced, I continued with my education and received my AA degree in Medical Office Administration. However, I quickly realized the medical field was not for me and knew I wanted to get more involved in tech and be able to grow within the industry.
2) What made you decide to pursue a software engineering career and apply for Techtonica?
At one point, I was really intrigued by technology and its ability to connect people in a more advanced way, but I was never introduced to it. One day, I reached out to one of my colleagues who was blogging about her software engineer journey. We had a meeting where she demonstrated coding and talked about her journey. She introduced me to Techtonica and encouraged me to apply. After being exposed to coding for the first time, and reading about Techtonica’s mission to help women and non-binary adults get into the tech industry, I knew this is the program I wanted to be a part of.
3) What are you most excited to learn while at Techtonica?
I’m honestly excited to learn everything there is about coding. I’m excited to learn how to tackle problems, create projects while inputting my ideas, and work with new technologies.
4) What do you want to contribute to or change about the tech industry?
I want to be able to represent those who are underrepresented. I want to encourage the Latinx community and others, to take the steps to get involved in the tech industry, even if it seems intimidating. In the future, I would love to be able to provide access to low-income, underrepresented individuals who are often not exposed to this type of information.
5) What’s your dream project?
My dream project would be to create an app for those who need assistance in either anxiety or depression for the Latinx community. This app would have more information about the Latinx culture and have a better understanding of their background. With the assistance of online counseling and journaling, the goal is to be able to grab their attention and encourage them to continue to seek help whenever they need assistance with their mental health.
