The latest articles on DEV Community by Melissa Manousos (@mmanousos). https://dev.to/mmanousos https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F60930%2F68cbc0d8-ff49-43ce-becd-33dbeaed7556.jpg https://dev.to/mmanousos en Melissa Manousos Wed, 17 Mar 2021 01:10:24 +0000 https://dev.to/mmanousos/nevertheless-melissa-manousos-coded-in-2021-5jm https://dev.to/mmanousos/nevertheless-melissa-manousos-coded-in-2021-5jm <h2> My most recent achievement was… </h2> <p>In 2020 I completed the Capstone curriculum at Launch School (<a href="http://www.launchschool.com">www.launchschool.com</a>) and then landed a full-time role as a Software Engineer II at PayPal. </p> <h2> Advocating for myself looks like… </h2> <p>Making my voice heard and making sure I am learning every day. </p> <h2> My biggest goal is… </h2> <p>Encouraging other women and under-represented folks coming up behind me and making space for them where I can.</p> <h2> My advice for allies to support underrepresented folks who code is... </h2> <p>Start by considering if the things you want to say are helpful and kind, then consider if you are the best person to say them. If not, maybe pass the opportunity to someone else.</p> <p>&lt;!-- Once your post is published, it will not appear on the /t/shecoded page until an admin approves it. This is an extra step to ensure there is no abuse on this important tag. --!&gt;</p> wecoded Melissa Manousos Thu, 07 Mar 2019 16:49:20 +0000 https://dev.to/mmanousos/nevertheless-melissa-manousos-coded--3cn2 https://dev.to/mmanousos/nevertheless-melissa-manousos-coded--3cn2 <p>I continued to code in 2019 because I enjoy it! I know I have a lot more to learn but I am enjoying the fun of the journey. </p> <p>I completed 3 of the 9 courses at Launch School and am on track to complete the 4th within the next week. I have also started co-hosting their Women's group to offer support to other women and non-binary folks within the program.</p> <p>I hope to see my tech community embrace and uplift more folks who are under-represented: career changers, women and non-binary folx, people of color. With more perspectives, we built better things!</p> wecoded Melissa Manousos Mon, 05 Mar 2018 22:25:33 +0000 https://dev.to/mmanousos/nevertheless-melissa-manousos-coded--e3a https://dev.to/mmanousos/nevertheless-melissa-manousos-coded--e3a <h2> I began/continue to code because... </h2> <p>I want to see more people like me in tech: women who have changed careers without getting a CS degree. (And a wider diversity of folks in general! We need more people, period, a wider variety will only be better.) </p> <h2> I recently overcame... </h2> <p>Last July, I quit my fulltime job to dedicate myself to learning to code. I have gone through a few different phases of frustration and feeling very stuck. But I have persisted and each day I renew my commitment to making tech my career. </p> <h2> I want to brag about... </h2> <p>Finishing two rounds of #100DaysofCode (and I just started my third one this week). (<a href="http://www.100daysofcode.com">http://www.100daysofcode.com</a>)</p> <p>During the second round, I built eight of the ten Front End Development Projects from the freeCodeCamp curriculum. The two I'm most proud of are the Advanced projects: my calculator (<a href="https://mmanousos.github.io/fcc_calculator/">https://mmanousos.github.io/fcc_calculator/</a>) and Pomodoro timer (<a href="https://mmanousos.github.io/fcc_pomodoro/">https://mmanousos.github.io/fcc_pomodoro/</a>). </p> <h2> My advice for allies to support women and non-binary folks who code is.... </h2> <p>Encourage those who don't look like you or come from the same background to keep going! Ask what they're working on, ask what cool new thing they've learned or are excited about, ask if there are things they are getting stuck with, ask if you can help. Listen when they say "no, thank you" or "yes, please". Listen when they describe the awesome new thing they've built or learned. Learn from their unique understandings. We'll all benefit. </p> wecoded