General Assembly Code for Change Scholarship

It started with a tweet. This tweet, from Women 2.0 to be exact:

Well, let me back up. Before this tweet, I had spent a few months learning HTML and CSS. With help Team Treehouse’s online tutorials, blog posts and John Duckett’s HTML&CSS design and build websites book, I created a website. It wasn’t fancy, but it was functional.

As the weeks past, I worked my way through more complicated frontend tutorials and dipped my toes into backend. I tried to work my way through backend tutorials, but I quicly realized that I lacked a structured learning plan. I applaud those who have been able to learn on their own, without classes, bootcamps, etc. There are a lot of resources out there, but I knew that if I wanted to continue on this path, I would have to commit full-time. I thought about going back to school for a CS degree, but then I saw the tweet about scholarships for women interested in learning to code. On that list, was General Assembly’s Opportunity Fund. Since I received the scholarship, the format has changed, now all scholarships fall under two categories: Web Development Immersive and User Experience Design Immersive. But at the time, I specifically received the Alexis Ohanian Fellowship for Women of Color.

At first, I was scared to apply. If I did get a scholarship, that would mean quitting my job, while my husband was in school full-time. Also, I can work my way through problems, but programming, building software and webpages seemed out of my league. Honestly, I could keep going with the list of why nots, but I got over the fears and applied anyway. I thought, what are the odds…

Turns out the odds were about one in six hundred, but a few weeks later, I was called in for an interview with both the Opportunity Fund Director and an instructor at General Assembly. Needless to say, I was intimidated, but later that evening I was informed that I would be given the scholarship.

It’s been a few months since I finished the program and soon after transitioned into teaching a Girls Who Code class in Harlem. They say there is nothing better than teaching to truly understand a concept. It’s true. Explaining loops, functions and if/else statements to 13 year olds made me have to break those concepts down to their simplest terms, which gave me a deeper understanding of them.

Going through the immersive was one of the hardest and most exhausting experices I’ve gone through, but I don’t regret any of it. Not only did I learn how to code, but I learned how to think differently. How to break down problems and work in small increments to accomplish a larger goal. It’s been a great experience so far, and excited for what’s to come.