Ada Essay Question

Essay.md

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####Essay Questions

1. Why are you interested in programming? What have you done to expose yourself to programming so far?

   Throughout the past few years, I have experienced professional development that has both challenged and elated me. Working in a technical laboratory setting I was challenged to work within groups and pairs to analyze large data sets. This introduced several challenges but chiefly among them was mitigating the differences in personality and working style for a diverse group approaching a technical problem. More recently, working directly with children has been an immense challenge for my personal growth; expanding my definitions of patience and level-headedness in the face of conflict. In combination, my strong technical and interpersonal strengths are the reasons I feel I would be successful in programming and web development. Ada's curriculum and timeline progress so rapidly that success is at least partially determined by the tenacity of the student. Everything is hard before it gets easier and so I began to slowly chip away at online resources. In the end, I focused mainly on two resources: Code academy and MIT Open Coursework, both available at no cost. My goal at the beginning was learning enough to help a family member produce, manage and format a website for his photography business. It has been a fully immersive learning experience and I certainly wouldn't say we have reached the finish line yet. Check it out!

2. What are your professional goals for the next 2 years, the next 5 years?

   In 2 years I would like to be working as a Junior Developer and learning more about web design. Given my background in Psychology and the skills I have developed about with interpersonal or social interactions I would be interested in learning more about how humans interact with a web or mobile application. Regardless of the product or content of the site, the user interface plays a role in determining the viability and in the end, popularity of the site or application. In short, if it's unappealing to use it doesn't matter how great the content is. I am excited to work in the intersectionality of a web or mobile based application and the real people who utilize it. In 5 years, I want to apply these skills as a Lead or Senior Developer by helping to manage a diverse team of talented developers. I have faith that I will still be learning at the end of these 5 years. If I will be sucessful in this change to programming I have to take ownership over it. The teachers and mentors in this program will help me to build my body of work as programmer but it's up to me to develop the feet and legs that will bring me forward in the field. To fulfill the potential I see in myself and that my teachers and this program will see in me it will mean continually pursuing new education.

3. 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?

   I'd say my biggest professional failure was in my lab assistant role at the Center for Family and Child Well Being where we failed to get a grant we had been counting on. The grant should have been ours, but in the end we all dropped the ball. I was reporting to two different people at the time. One was in charge of the front-end of the lab and the other was supervising the back-end of the lab. Based on the amount of work sometimes it would take longer for me to get work back for the first supervisor or the second. At one point, they each asked me to take on a big project for the lab. I began on the first project and finished it with good feedback and then started on the second project. At the same time, my back-end supervisor told me he needed all of the data analysis the next day for a grant application. Meanwhile, the two managers had been having their own struggle with allocating lab resources (including staff) to complete their action items. In retrospect, as the person who was working most closely with the management team I should have picked up on it and found a way to address it. Losing the grant was a real blow to the lab. Personally, I learned to that I need to pay more attention to the interpersonal dynamics of the team. As a result, we began having weekly meetings to help to address the communication challenges.

4. Have you taught yourself anything before? Describe what you learned and how you approached it.

   As I left school and entered the workforce there were several real, "ah-ha" moments that fed my personal growth. Perhaps the most important of them was this: some of the most important things you learn in life won't be academic. At 5'7" 260 pounds, I'd spent most of my life as categorized as class II obese. In March of 2015, I decided to try to strike a balance and give myself a fresh start. I had to re-learn all of the processes that make us adults: how to shop, cook, socialize but this time within a frame of self-care. I have had to create new coping mechanisms for boredom, anxiety and depression. So far, it has helped me to loose almost 27% of my total body weight and I am no longer classified as obese. However, this is a lifelong learning process - and I have fallen off of the wagon more than once! I came to the conclusion I would have to be gentle with myself and the lessons I've learned here have rippled through all aspects of life. I know there will be times when the mountain feels too big, too high to climb, but I only really have to make it through today; maybe tomorrow with fresh light I'll find myself just a little bit closer to the top.