Hi All,

Thanks for reading my letter to the community. I hope this inspires you to keep coding in 2021 and beyond.

Love,
Tiff

My most recent achievement involves…

My most recent achievement is finishing an AR system that projects videos onto billboards and other target objects.

I've been coding for almost ten years now. And I'm continually finding my most significant achievements are always ahead of me. Sometimes it's happiness because I'm just now growing my GitHub presence. Sometimes it's successfully debugging a problem I've been trying to figure out for 24 hours straight.

Recently, I learned that I have a different way of coding and developing my solutions. I'm not much of a person who obsesses over hyperparameter tuning, and I'm not stubborn or obsessed with my code. That means I am more likely to experiment through heuristics and combining algorithms. There are pros and cons to this style, but it doesn't take away from what I can achieve, and it certainly doesn't take away from how other people end up solving the same problem.

My advice for allies to support underrepresented folks who code is...

My advice to allies to support underrepresented folks who code is to make your intentions clear.

I remember when I didn’t feel like I had peers or managers on my side—not having people supporting or advocating my growth hurt in a lot of ways. I believed I was objectively a high-performing member of my team, but I lost my way. I thought I wouldn’t be able to meet my personal and career goals.

And at the time, I had several people, both peers, and managers telling me that my chances were low or too new or too young. What changed my perspective was when one person taking the time to get to know me and share their intentions to help support and mentor me throughout several paths and actions that I could take given where I was in my career. It’s not about the people who don’t believe in you or don’t see you for who you are. You get to choose whose opinion and feedback matters. And there are only things that you can do. It’s when someone is willing to step up and bring those forward that an underrepresented person who’s been discouraged can continue to grow in their way.

Everyone has their path, and I think one great way to support someone is to remind them that they own that path. If you'd like to support someone, let them know. Encourage them to make the developments needed to progress and grow in the ways that work best for them.

My biggest goal is…

My biggest goal for 2021 is to support my community and provide more opportunities for people looking to grow their tech careers. I'd love for more people to feel empowered and inspired to own their paths and make the most out of the journey.

There's a number of ways you can look at work, jobs, and coding. I'm kind of a passion-minded person, so a lot of the work I enjoy involves helping others. To each their own!

Photo Cover by Aidan Granberry on Unsplash