December Spotlight On… Ashley Steele!
Ashley Steele has the energy of a Labrador puppy, and she will make you excited about whatever she is currently into. Her positive attitude is contagious, and will keep you smiling for hours after having spent time with her. She just graduated from Thinkful, where she studied data science.
Ashley joined Women Who Code Dallas/Ft. Worth near the beginning of the year, and has been a huge help in our community for all members learning and studying data science. Acting as a brand ambassador for data, she is quick to identify members who are interested in studying it, point them in the direction of our data channel on Slack, and show them some resources to help get them started. We cannot imagine our WWCode DFW without Ashley’s energy.
How did you get into your field?
My wife, who is also a member of Women Who Code, took a data science bootcamp last year, and I really enjoyed listening to her talk about her assignments and what she was learning. In my past life I was a middle school physics teacher but I knew that at the end of the school year I was ready to move on to the next adventure. Since it was a field I was excited about, data science was a natural choice for my next career. I love how it allows me to tell stories with numbers and statistics, as well as develop machine learning models to help improve the lives of others!
What made you want to join Women Who Code?
When I decided to switch careers I realized how lonely it can be for women in tech, so I went looking for groups I could join. I actually went to a Women in Data event that Caree Youngman and Claire Tolbert were speaking at, loved their attitudes and how welcoming they were, and decided to join the group then!
I am beyond lucky to have found Women Who Code. I’m not a traditional programmer or engineer, but this community of amazing humans has accepted me and welcomed me for who I am. I truly feel like I have a stronger support system than I have ever had, and a new family!
What is something you’ve accomplished recently that made you proud?
I just finished my final capstone project for my bootcamp on crimes in Dallas, their relationship to weather and demographic data, and (hopefully) a predictive model that can help identify conditions that may lead to future crimes.
What do you do when you’re not coding/working?
I enjoy spending time with my wife, Rebecca, and our two furry kiddos(dogs): Sasha and Bruce. I also love spending time outside, especially roller skating!
What motivates you? What gets you out of bed in the morning?
As cheesy as it sounds, my former students motivate me. They were my cheerleaders as I learned physics from scratch and when I started my bootcamp. Even though I don’t get to see them anymore I still want to be a positive role model for them and remember how proud they were of me and my accomplishments!
What’s next for you? What are your goals?
Getting a job, haha! Seriously though, I am excited about the career opportunities in data science I can start exploring as soon as I am done with my bootcamp! My specialization is time series data and I would like to use this knowledge, along with machine learning and AI, to help make the world a better place in any way I can!
