I began to code because I missed the creativity of building something from scratch and the feeling of accomplishment that came with that. I had tinkered with HTML and inline CSS when I was a teenager making Myspace layouts. At the time I didn't know I was coding. It was just fun for me! After we took a career aptitude test, mine came back to say I would be a great systems engineer or IT professional. Growing up in a rural community most of the girls in my class laughed at that and I got embarrassed. I ended up pursuing a degree in public relations despite my love for computers. Working as a PR professional, everything about what I was doing felt off and it never really clicked. Finally, I found the Iron Yard (RIP) and realized what my career had been missing!

During my time learning I dealt with comments discouraging me from my goal. Comments about learning slowly, not knowing enough and I was even once asked if I was a recruiter at a Javascript conference. Even though I was still just a student I kept going hoping these were isolated incidents. As a web developer now I realize we still have a long way to go to make working in tech a safe place for women. I won't give up though.

I know I belong here and I will continue to break the mold of what a computer programmer "looks" like. I'm grateful for all of the women that made technology what it is today and I'm excited to make my mark to make it easier for women and non-binary people to see this as a safe and inclusive environment.