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Anna Villarreal
Anna Villarreal

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DPI Apprenticeship: Week 2

Opportunity

Now that the anxiety of the first day and week has passed, I wanted to share the beginning of my journey at DPI. Many of the people in the program with me come from diverse and interesting backgrounds, and I found comfort in knowing that I was not the only ball of anxiety. Hands down my favorite part is being surrounded by intelligent individuals that care about their futures, and the future of things to come.



Meet and Greet

It is with great honor that we have opportunities to meet and ask questions to some of the most experienced individuals in the field of technology. This has also been a highlight, having been starstruck when they choose to have lunch with us.



neon brain

Reframing Thinking

The apprenticeship thus far, has been an excellent place to reframe thinking and develop self-marketing skills. Coming from a non-traditional background (no computer science degree) this is of monumental importance when it comes to seeking employment and choosing the right dialog for answering interview questions. A lot can be accomplished with a few simple sentences, so long as you choose your wording just right. Very powerful. Colleges don't really teach you this type of stuff. This has real world applications that extend far beyond the interview process. An example of that would include navigating a conversation gracefully. Ultimately this boils down to effective communication.



New Outlook

Getting on a regular schedule was definitely a change for me, as I have been mostly pursuing my small business for some time. However I welcome the structure as part of the change and I am excited for each day. Looking back roughly a year ago, I was just beginning to learn how to code. What a big, enormous step. I do not know where exactly this will lead but I am here for the ride and will enjoy every minute of it. Even if I have to occasionally dress fancy! (I am quite partial to my hoodies and yoga pants)



Learning Programming

We are continuing to learn full-stack with Ruby. I am excited to learn more about backend since most of my current experience is all front end. We have most recently been introduced to data structures as optional learning and I am interested to see what else is in store.

cat on a laptop



I would like to tell anyone that is just barely starting, to keep at it, keep trying. If it's something you actually want and enjoy in your heart, good things will follow. I have found peace of mind when I am coding and I know that it is a piece of my puzzle. I hope that you can find your peace, whatever that may be. <3

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