Five Women to Watch: WCCI Grads Lead the Way
Dia Scruggs, Nicole Hofer, Josephine Wilson, Madison Mitchell, and Lyzz Hans all came to We Can Code IT’s Part-time Coding Bootcamp with different backgrounds and levels of coding experience. What they all had in common was that they were all professional women with a passion for learning and a strong drive to advance their skills and ultimately their careers.
When asked why they chose WCCI’s Part-time Coding Bootcamp, the students gave many different reasons. They cited the convenience of the hybrid, 22-week program and the schedule that allows them to maintain their current jobs and personal responsibilities while advancing their skills. They also mentioned the more manageable pace of a part-time program as opposed to the 14-week Full-time Bootcamp.
As their cohort progressed through the program, the instructors began to take notice of this particular group of women. They were talented, motivated and in the minority among their mostly male class. The instructors decided to put the women all in the same group during a problem/project-based assignment where the students were asked to create a one-page application called “JAC’s Mystery Educator”. The results were extremely positive. WCCI instructor, Alan Kostrick explains, “Oftentimes if you’re “different” in some way from the majority, it can be difficult to lead. We saw these women had talent, but they didn’t necessarily sit in the driver’s seat. Putting them all together in a group allowed them to thrive. It also allowed their peers to see them in the light they deserved. They’ve carried this earned respect and confidence with them to lead male-dominated teams on their final projects.” The competence, perseverance and professionalism of these students is indicative of WCCI graduates.
WCCI is sure to qualify their diverse student body prior to admitting students into the program. There’s a stringent admissions assessment along with an interview that determines a student’s aptitude for and commitment to learning software development. Because of these high standards, WCCI graduates are of the highest caliber job candidates that you’ll find. When asked why an employer might choose WCCI students, Madison Mitchell offered this, “Because we were taught via a remote, part-time program, we were taught how to learn and figure out difficult problems for ourselves before asking for help. We’ve been trained with a good foundation of how to troubleshoot and learn in general.”
Liz Hans added, “We have the ability to perform a multitude of tasks because we have that broad, full-stack background.” And finally Josephine Wilson proffered, “The agile methodologies that we were taught are a great help in client-facing situations as well as in getting the project done on time.”
These five women have shown an aptitude and passion for software development that’s inherent to all WCCI Graduates. This passion is summed up best by “JAC’s Mystery Educator” Project group member, Nicole Hofer, “The WCCI Program was easy for me because I’m truly passionate about it (coding). It’s like a good book that you can’t put down. When I start coding, and I get in my groove, I can’t stop.”
