Have you ever met someone whose story just makes you sit up and listen? That's Kayla Paden for you – a breath of fresh air in Springfield's tech scene. Her path to web development isn't your typical tech journey, and that's what makes it so fascinating. Despite being relatively new to the development world, Kayla's already making waves in the SGFDevs and OpenSGF communities. Her unique background isn't just a talking point; it's a source of innovative ideas and a fresh perspective that's shaking things up around here.
Kayla's roots are deep in Springfield, growing up in a family where encouragement and love were constants While her brothers had their own adventures, she was the one you would find at home, right next to her dad, hands-on with all sorts of projects. When Kayla was younger, her dad’s career was always a bit ambiguous. She knew he was in tech, but not exactly what he did. But later in life she would learn more about his career as a data analyst. And it's pretty clear that those father-daughter DIY sessions may have been the spark that lit the fire of her tech aspirations.
I love building things. I just grew up always doing stuff with my dad. (. . .) I'd be like, “oh, let's put in the wood floor together”, or “let's do tiling together”, you know? I was always the one who wanted to do that.
Their close family dynamic helped carry Kayla through one of the toughest battles of her life. At seven she was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, leading to long stays at the hospital for treatment. While staying at St. Judes in Memphis, she found comfort in music lessons led by local college professors who volunteered their time to bring comfort to the long-term patients. She was captivated by music and the joy of learning to create it herself. When the Make-A-Wish foundation arrived to fulfill her wish, she asked for a piano, and she still has that piano to bring her joy.
The way that music carried her through the struggle and ultimate victory over cancer, solidified her passion for the art. Her beautiful personality wouldn’t let her keep her passion to herself though. From the point she was able, she was sharing her passion and skills with those around her. Throughout High School she took on music students and spread her talent and love to those around her. Kayla ultimately took those two things and cultivated a career.
After getting her music degree at MSU, she stayed and began her graduate studies and teaching as a graduate assistant. Teaching piano and music theory was her start, and later she picked up a class in the English Language Institute, teaching English for musicians. Kayla loved working with the international students, allowing her to teach in more unconventional ways and bring more fun and lightness to her career.
Unfortunately, that lightness was interrupted by the coming of the year 2020. While 2020 brings to mind images of masks and distance and remote-work. It also brought with it a separation in Kayla’s marriage, the halt on international travel (and international students to teach), and a huge reduction in students looking for piano lessons. With so many life-changing events and struggles flying at Kayla, she retreated to the strength of her loving family to help her find her feet.
Amidst all of the chaos, Kayla spotted a silver lining – a chance to reboot her life and take a fresh path. After spending some time on self-reflection, she found a new enthusiasm working with a global non-profit. Working as a database administrator, she found she had a natural ability working with data and tech.
One of the first tech projects that really energized Kayla and her future in the field was organizing the entire data system for the company she was contracting with, Freedom Shield. Combining all of the data sources into an internal database. Not only was the work interesting and right up her alley, she found a mentor of sorts in her Product Manager who encouraged her and supported her as she developed into her role. Once her contract was up, Kayla found herself really looking at the tech industry as her next career.
While looking around at the tech community in Springfield, trying to find her place, she found a mentor in Spenser Harris (president, Mostly Serious). His background in education was familiar and his focus on fostering strong team dynamics at Mostly Serious really spoke to her.
Teachers are really independent (. . .) but I loved the idea of being able to join a team and, getting to be in this type of community and build stuff together. And I just felt like there would be a lot of growth there.
So, starting in 2023 she really threw herself into learning and networking. She went through the Odin Project’s Foundation course, and started joining some of the local developer networking groups. Which, of course, led her to SGFDevs. She also joined Springfield Women in Technology and was invited to join Springfield Tech Council’s events committee. She’s soaking up all the connections she can and in between, she’s learning all that she can. In August she started CodeLabs, and learned Java over the summer! Bouncing around a few languages and platforms, while maintaining her passion for solving problems.
One of the big achievements Kayla has is stepping up and co-organizing the OpenSGF group. Her support and guidance has led to more and more people coming to the meetings consistently and supporting Springfield and local non profits through their work. But it’s not just her coding skills that she brings to the group, her history with teaching and organizing has made her invaluable.
Kayla credits her consistency, people skills and tenacity for her successes in the tech world so far. With a beautiful outlook on how to make an impact in the community.
I think it's like the Boy Scout rule. But not just for code, for people.
Leave people in a better place than when you found them.
Kayla is still a relative newcomer on the tech scene in Springfield, but she has skyrocketed in her knowledge, connections and impact. The exact trajectory of her career is still unknown, but it’s certain to contain passion, enthusiasm and a unique blend of intellect, tenacity and skill. Her blend of creative flair and technical prowess will keep us watching as she shapes the future of technology in Springfield.
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