CoderDojo KC Co-Director Reflects on Django Girls KC Experience

Django Girls Kansas City, a free programming workshop for women, is being held for the third year in a row this weekend at VMLY&R near downtown KC. As the local chapter of the larger Django Girls organization, this offers all women professionals the opportunity to grow their skills in a fun, mentor-led coding event. Anri Liy, CoderDojo KC Co-Director, attended the kick-off Django Girls KC weekend in 2016 and reflects on how Django Girls KC has impacted her career in tech.

What was your experience like at Django Girls?
I got to learn a new and popular language and I also got an opportunity to learn from the local engineers.

What were you wanting to achieve from attending Django Girls? Was the experience what you thought it would be?
I really wanted to finish the event curriculum. I actually achieved the goal that makes me happy and gave me confidence.

How did you start working in technology?
I started in Manual Quality Assurance as my first job. I’m still working as a QA but I’m writing test code every day and I am still learning everyday.

How are you involved with KCWiT? What is your favorite part of volunteering
I started mentoring at CoderDojo in September 2017 and I’m a co-director now. It doesn’t matter if it’s a mentor or attendee, I enjoy seeing everyone learn and learning from them.

What advice do you have for women who are interested in technology?
If you are studying and looking for a tech. job, I would like to say to you, never give up and keep studying. It took me seven months to get a tech job and achieving your dreams takes time. So don’t give up.

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