Bootcamp Grad Returns from International Study Abroad and Lands Dream Career

After discovering her passion for African Studies, Jennifer immersed herself into a completely new lifestyle by studying abroad in Africa. She later returned to the United States with a greater understanding of world diversity. Once she returned to America, she worked in online schooling as a teacher. Her tech knowledge consisted of basic knowledge from her childhood along with some HTML, which she used to customize her teaching lessons. She always had an interest in making web pages, so she started considering coding bootcamps.

 Jennifer then was referred to We Can Code IT by a friend, who graduated five years prior. “She [Jennifer’s friend] described this bootcamp to me as ‘awesome,’ and that is exactly what it was,” Jennifer exclaimed.

Once she enrolled, Jennifer realized the WCCI bootcamp environment was not only inclusive to the usual suspects at the tech table, but also inviting for her and others who are historically underrepresented in tech. “I liked that they were accommodating to women and minorities. I felt more comfortable there for that reason,” Jennifer explained. 

The combination of structure and free will in the classroom allowed Jennifer to exercise her creative side. “We were given a structured program with our assignments. Our instructors were very clear about what information is up-to-date and what is important to learn. I like that most assignments are projects we did on our own. We could be creative, which made the work more meaningful,” Jennifer said. While Jennifer was able to bring her work to life, she also was held accountable and on track during the process.   “The due dates, assignments, and team members kept me on track to succeed in bootcamp. I am not sure if I would have put the effort to learn the content on my own either,” she said. 

Jennifer’s experience in the classroom was one component that helped her succeed during bootcamp, but the career advancement team helped her reach her destiny after bootcamp ended. “The career advancement team helped with resumes and interviews. They had a recruiter contact me about the job I got months ago and I still had a long time left until I was finished with bootcamp. When I graduated, I contacted the same recruiter, I interviewed, and I got the first job I interviewed for. I was shocked but fortunate,” she said. 

Today, Jennifer is working as a .net developer for Case Western Reserve. She will be working in the school of medicine.