A message from Nicole

Even if you drop out of the Computer Science major program itself, it does NOT mean you're an inept programmer or not fit for the industry. I wish someone had told me this, because I mentally crossed "tech industry" off my list of possibilities after nearly flunking out of CS230 and switching majors.

A quick background of my pathway from failed Wellesley CS degree attempt to EdTech looked like:
• Switched majors from CS to Poli Sci sophomore year (2004), but kept working at Knapp Tech Center through rest of time at Wellesley
• Graduated into recession, got wrecked professionally (temp jobs etc) for years
• In 2012, got my first full-time job at a stable company (non-tech)
• Switched to tech company in Customer Service role in 2014
• Was let go from tech company, decided to teach myself to "build websites" at 29 years old
• Got first web development job 10 months in after intensive self-study
• Learning web development led me to return to CS fundamentals
• I taught myself at my own pace—and it worked this time. I could understand! :)
• I focused in on online courses because they helped me to learn the seemingly un-learnable
• Started podcasting (La Vie en Code Podcast), blog, and making my own courses (Newbie Coder School)

I absolutely 1000% love what I do now, which is kinda at the intersection of technology, education, and psychology. 🥰 I've learned so much simply from asking my own questions and understanding why I was asking them, and why the concepts were important to begin with. Traditional CS education sometimes doesn't do a solid job in truly conceptualizing these complex concepts for certain learners.

I get to work with technology, and the other fantastic, strong individuals determined to succeed in learning those same CS fundamentals I nearly flunked out of. And I understand them well enough to be able to explain them to students in a way that vibes with their learning preferences.

Oh, and those CS struggles? Largely due to an undiagnosed Non-Verbal Learning Disability I didn't learn about until I was 32 YEARS OLD. What a bitch. 😅 So I talk about that a lot too in my content and on social media.