CodeNewbie

Latest Episodes:

S25:E4 - Diversity Dialogues in Tech (Ale Thomas) Sep 06, 2023

Show notes

Saron talks to Ale Thomas, Developer Advocate and Web Developer at Kubeshop | Mixed Change. Ale talks about growing up in Mexico and learning to code on her own. She walks us through her career history and how she paved her way into tech without a CS degree. She highlights how mentors played a critical role in her coding journey and how important finding those mentors and a community is. Finally, Ale shares her thoughts on what inclusivity in tech means to her and the work she is doing to make an impact in the space.

Ale Thomas

Ale is an Industrial Engineer turned Software Developer from Mexico. Now based in NY, she's passionate about Open Source Software, developing for non-profits, and helping out in the tech community.

S25:E3 - Self-Taught Coding Stories of a Former Lab Scientist (Vanessa Vun) Aug 30, 2023

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Join us as we sit down with Vanessa Vun, Frontend Engineer at SciShield. Vanessa talks about how she first built a computer when she was in middle school but ended up taking a different path for her studies and found herself back in tech after working as a Clinical Lab Scientist for 10 years. Vanessa shares how she gained her technical experience to put herself in the best position when applying for jobs, along with tips on how others could learn from her journey.

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Vanessa Vun

Vanessa Vun started her self-taught coding journey in 2022 after quitting a 10-year career as a clinical laboratory scientist. About 14 months later, she landed a job as a Frontend Engineer at SciShield, which provides a platform of solutions for research laboratories.

S25:E2 - The Journey from a Bootcamp to a FAANG (Alex Lee) Aug 23, 2023

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Meet Alex Lee, Frontend Engineer at Amazon. In this episode, we learn why Alex pivoted away from Mechanical Engineering and we follow his journey of transformation, opting to learn to code through a bootcamp over multiple law school offers. Alex also talks about his passion as a dedicated career coach and we learn more about Alex who not only excels in the realm of cutting-edge technology but also empowers others to navigate their career paths with confidence.

Alex Lee

Alex is a Frontend Engineer at Amazon based in Los Angeles. He also is a career coach dedicated to helping new and seasoned Software Developers change or advance their career.

S25:E1 - Pivoting to Tech from Biomedical Science (Marley Anthony) Aug 16, 2023

Show notes

In the kickoff episode to Season 25, Saron talks to Marley Anthony, Software Engineer at Bench Accounting. Marley talks about his career pivot from studying biomedical sciences to getting into tech. He unravels his strategies and tactics to secure his first internship, the pivotal steps he took to transition into his current role, and the significance of laying a solid foundation of knowledge early in his career. Tune in to gain valuable perspectives on strategies for landing that all-important internship, fostering growth, and embracing the ongoing pursuit of knowledge.

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Marley Anthony

Marley Anthony is a software engineer, photographer, and outdoor enthusiast based in Vancouver, BC. He loves tech and spending his time outside riding bikes and hiking. He's keen to continue to use his passion for creating to make beautiful, simple, and minimal websites.

S24:E8 - A Model's Journey to Software Development (Madison Kanna) Jun 28, 2023

Show notes

Saron talks to Madison Kanna, Senior Software Engineer, Health and Wellness at Walmart. Saron talks to Madison about finding the inspiration to transition from being a model to becoming a skilled developer. Madison talks about the experiences, challenges, and moments that sparked her interest in development. Listeners will gain insights into the tools and resources she utilized to hone her coding skills when first embarking on this new path. Madison also highlights the importance of seeking mentorship and how mentorship can open doors to exciting opportunities.

Madison Kanna

Madison Kanna started her coding journey back in 2017 after deciding to shift away from her modeling career. In just one year, she made the transition fully and she is now a Senior Software Engineer in Health and Wellness at Walmart! Outside of her role, you can find her blogging about what she's learning, or leading the CodeBookClub, a virtual community she started back in 2020.

S24:E7 - Navigating Layoffs with Intention (Natalie Davis) Jun 21, 2023

Show notes

Today, Saron sits down with Natalie Davis, who shares her experience pursuing software engineering after climbing the ladder in the retail industry for 15 years. In their conversation, Natalie talks about what she has learned navigating the tech industry, how she's navigated layoffs, and why she has grown to be more selective and intentional with prospective new opportunities.

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Natalie Davis

Natalie Davis is a software engineer by trade and a curious person by nature. After deciding to step away from her extensive retail career, Natalie took the first steps in her tech journey by graduating from an 18-month long bootcamp. Natalie landed her first engineering role with Foxtrot while still in school, but has since held roles with Netlify and Post.

S24:E6 - Surviving Cancer, Building Code, Thriving in Tech (Stacey Graham) Jun 14, 2023

Show notes

Saron sits down with Stacey Graham, Software Engineer at a fintech company. Stacey grew up curious about computers since being introduced to them in the 7th grade. Although she didn't take the full plunge into code immediately, she constantly provided technical support in her previous roles. Hear Stacey talk more about her experience navigating her career transition while battling health troubles, how you can level up and network in the tech community, and where to look for communities while you are just starting out.

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Stacey Graham

Stacey fell in love with technology in the 7th grade in her first computer class and from there, her curiosity for technology began. She is passionate about coding and loves learning and problem-solving collaboratively in teams. She enjoys building high-quality applications in JavaScript, React, and Angular and she enjoys working with RESTful APIs, Node.js, and Express.js. She likes being challenged and believes there is always an opportunity to learn something new in web development, and that is what gets her excited about this industry.

S24:E5 - Balancing Parenthood and Programming (Phoebe Voong-Fadel) Jun 07, 2023

Show notes

Today, Saron talks with Phoebe Voong-Fadel, a self-taught Frontend Developer at the National Foundation for Educational Research. After having transitioned from a successful 14-year career in Higher Education in 2017, Phoebe made the courageous decision to pursue coding full-time while balancing the responsibilities of being a mother to her two children. Along with learning about her experience balancing learning to code and being a mom we talk to Phoebe about her passions that extend beyond her professional role. She actively contributes to the coding community by writing articles for freeCodeCamp and mentors early-career developers.

Phoebe Voong-Fadel

Phoebe was born and educated in the U.K. Before entering the world of web development, she worked for over a decade at various universities in London. Throughout her career in Higher Education, she was a strong advocate of using technology and software to automate repetitive administrative tasks. So she decided to pursue a more technical career. She is currently working full-time as a front-end developer at the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER).

S24:E4 - From Occupational Therapy to Code (Africa Mincey) May 31, 2023

Show notes

Saron talks with Africa, a former Occupational Therapist specializing in virtual therapy and assistive technology. Saron and Africa talk about transitioning from Occupational Therapy to working as an Accessibility Engineer testing government software and teaching developers how to build more inclusive web applications. Africa also talks about her journey teaching herself how to code, what stretches are useful for Software Engineers, and how important coffee chats and networking are. Be sure to listen for the mini-guided stretch break during the episode as well!

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Africa Mincey

Africa Mincey is a Software Engineer and accessibility specialist specializing in: - human centered full-stack web development - assistive technology and web accessibility - technical writing, content creation, and community building. She uses web development tools to create dynamic and responsive web applications using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, express, mongoDB and NodeJS.

S24:E3 - Building Products for Everyone (Daniel Devesa Derksen-Staats) May 24, 2023

Show notes

Saron talks to Senior Accessibility iOS Engineer at Spotify, Daniel Devesa Derksen-Staats. Daniel talks all about accessibility and specifically delves in on how he got interested in the field, examples of how to make code more accessible, and how others listening can add accessibility to their tool kit of coding skills. Author of the “Developing Accessible iOS Apps” book, he keeps himself busy by writing a daily tweet about accessibility and iOS with the hashtag #365DaysIOSAccessibility.

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Daniel Devesa Derksen-Staats

Dani has his dream job as an iOS Engineer on Spotify’s Accessibility team. He has previously loved working at Skyscanner or the BBC, where he learned a ton about how to make iOS apps more accessible. Sometimes he lets Xcode have a break and spreads the love for accessibility at conferences. Author of the “Developing Accessible iOS Apps” book, he keeps himself busy by writing a daily tweet about accessibility and iOS with the hashtag #365DaysIOSAccessibility.