Left with a mountain student debt, an itch to settle down, and uncertainty about my next freelance film gig — I knew something needed to change.

I was interested in the inner workings of technology as a child, but the resources in my community (and my dial-up internet connection), deterred me from diving deep. During college, I was introduced to new media — combining technology, interactivity, and information to craft new learning experiences. As a documentary film student, it got my mind buzzing about apps and sites that could support the impact of my films, but I didn’t have the skills to create them. Upon graduation, I moved into nonprofit communications and film producing. I spent my free time cultivating hobbies that helped me learn about how things worked behind the scenes: knitting, baking, and beekeeping.

My tech dreams faded until I became friends with some developers.

As they spoke about their work, it piqued my interest. Maybe I could learn about this too? I decided to learn software engineering to get under the hood of the technology I use every day. In October 2018, I will graduate from the Flatiron School's Full Stack Web Development program and hope to transition into a job as a Full Stack Web Developer that utilizes my new skills in Ruby-on-Rails, Javascript, and React-Redux.