1. Why are you interested in programming? What have you done to expose yourself to programming so far?
I am interested in programming because I am a very analytical person. I easily observe patterns and enjoy resolving problems. While I may be analytical and technical, I always find myself described as highly creative. I have recently discovered the world of programming and have found that my strengths and way of thinking, enable me to quickly grasp concepts. Once I grasp a concept within programming my curiosity increases and leaves me wanting for more.
During college, my focus was in the hard sciences. My favorite classes were organic chemistry and neuroscience. I could spend hours drawing on a whiteboard drawing chemical equations and learning about chemical processes in the brain. It was not until I started working at Amazon that I was introduced to the field of programming. It was there, where I discovered that chemical equations and code are very similar. They both have specific inputs and outputs and require attention to interactions and patterns. Amazon has given me the opportunity to work closely with developers, learn internal languages, and feed my curiosity.
At Amazon, I work with the Marketplace Safety team which is responsible for restricting products that can potentially be dangerous to consumers (eg. Topicals, Dietary supplements, etc.). Since there are millions of products globally, we need to create written rules using an internal language that captures certain product groups. I have excelled in learning this language as well as creating strings for the developers that I want to be more involved in their work. I admit that my curiosity has grown so much that I have been asked to step back a bit since certain tasks are outside of my job scope. It is for this reason that I want to go through intense training so that in the future I can actually be the developer completing projects.
In addition to learning rule writing at Amazon, I have been taking intro courses to learn SQL and HTML. I have also been completing exercises in Ada's Jump Start and use online resources to practice Ruby.
2. If you are accepted into our program, where do you see your career in 5 years?
If accepted into ADA, I see myself being an influential developer, being economically more stable, and a role model to others in 5 years. I see myself working for a company that values me and that empowers me to grow and be influential. After graduating college, it was difficult for me to find a job related to my Psychology/Science background. Several companies in the industry require a masters or doctorate degree. For the most part, the jobs I have qualified for are support roles or customer service roles which have taught me a lot but, I know I am capable of doing so much more. If accepted to the program, I will take advantage of every opportunity to learn because I know how valuable developers are and I truly want to feel valued as the intelligent woman that I am. In 5 years I hope to be working on innovative technology that will be adding value to people’s lives.
In addition to having a stable career, I want to help others that are interested in programming learn about the field and educate them on how they can get started. I have years of volunteering at hospitals, clinics and schools because I have always been passionate about giving back to the community and because it represents my values.
3. After reading Ada's Vision, Mission and Inclusivity Statement, how will you contribute to Ada's vision for an inclusive and diverse community?
As a first generation Chicana, Ada’s Vision, Mission and Inclusivity Statement truly resonate with me. I understand the struggles people have to face due to race, religion, gender, social status, economic status and anything considered different. I grew up in Chicago, one of the most segregated and violent cities in America. Growing up in Chicago may have been difficult but I am fortunate to have overcome several obstacles thanks to the help of my support groups.
I understand how important it is it to have support groups and due to my own experiences, I want to offer my support to anyone that needs it regardless of any circumstances. A way I can contribute is by reaching out to the Latino community. My mother raised my brother I as a single mother. Due to financial restrictions we did not have much opportunity to participate in extra-curricular activities. In addition, due to cultural differences and my mom’s educational level, she was unaware that computer science is a great career field with so much to offer. If I would have been exposed to programming at an earlier age then I would have discovered my passion a lot sooner. Most importantly, if I would’ve met a Latina developer I would’ve have believed that I could do it too. I would like to reach out to families with similar backgrounds and educate them about the endless opportunities in tech for their children. I hope to educate them about a field in which their children can learn how to create something solely from a computer and ways to support their child’s interest. I have a lot of experience teaching children and educating parents that I would love to later on run a coding boot camp available to children in underrepresented and marginalized groups. Educating both children and parents in these groups is an impactful way of bringing more diversity into the tech industry and preparing future generations.
4. Tell us about a time you made a mistake that you learned a lot from. If you encountered the situation again, what would you do differently?
At iRhythm Technologies Inc., I was responsible for notifying doctors of severe cardiac arrhythmias that patients would have. There were times in which the volume of notifications were high meaning that I had to place more outbound phone calls. There was a time in which I reported the wrong information to a doctor. I had so many windows open in my computer that I called a doctor and gave him the wrong cardiac results about a patient. It was not until about an hour later that I realized that I had provided him the wrong information. To resolve the issue, I immediately called the doctor and explained the situation. I owned up to my mistake and although he was understanding and appreciative of me clarifying the issue, I still felt guilty due to the seriousness of the mistake. I realized that I could have affected someone’s life by providing the wrong cardiac information.
There are several things I learned from this experience. The first is to slow down and analyze your work. It is always better to provide quality work versus quantity. In this situation, the results were about someone’s life and I realized that there should be no room for error. Other situations may not always be about life or death however, quality work is something I always strive for. Since then, I am more cautious when working with sensitive information. This experience also taught me to be more organized. Since then, I’ve developed a habit of organizing my work and tracking my progress to avoid any mistakes.
If I were to encounter this situation again I would take my time analyzing the information and ensuring that I had the correct patient information before calling the doctor.