1. Meet the Teacher: Caleb Smith

    Meet Caleb Smith! Caleb is an Intro to Python instructor for Girl Develop It Raleigh/Durham.

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    What do you work on?

    For work, I do full-stack web development in Clojure at Transportation Insight, a third-party logistics company.

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    How did you learn to program? 

    I first learned to program in BASIC when I was 9 or so and enjoyed making games for DOS. I found my favorite program from that time and put it on my GitHub: https://github.com/calebsmith/Water-and-Stone-RPG . I’m often shy about this part of my story because it can help reinforce a false narrative that programmers have to have this sort of origin story, which I find both incorrect and toxic. I studied programming again in earnest when I was 22 or so, when I wanted some programs to help with my music theory and analysis homework. I learned more in that one year than the decade leading up to it. It’s never tool late to start.

    What do you do when you’re not programming?

    When I’m not programming, I enjoy running, hiking, reading, and making music.

    Follow Caleb on Twitter at: @calebsmithNC

    Check out our upcoming classes at GDI RDU: https://www.girldevelopit.com/chapters/raleigh-durham

     

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  2. Meet the Leader: Laura Freer

    Laura is a Chapter Leader for Girl Develop It Phoenix and a Sr. Programmer Analyst at the Arizona Supreme Court.

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    What do you work on? 

    I am a full stack developer working in the Microsoft stack. I make applications that allow users to access the state’s court records

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    How did you learn to program? 

    I was working as a Microsoft Office trainer (Word, Excel, etc) and was given the opportunity to take some technical training classes through my company. I loved it and it just grew from there.

    What do you do when you’re not programming?

    When I’m not working I help organize GDI events, play in a kickball league, go hiking, and kill monsters on XBox.

    Check out upcoming classes with GDI Phoenix:  https://www.girldevelopit.com/chapters/phoenix

     

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  3. Meet the Leader: Gretchen Kastetter

    Meet Gretchen Kastetter! Gretchen is a chapter leader for Girl Develop It Fort Collins, Admin Coordinator for Girl Develop It and a web designer. 

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    What do you work on? 

    As Admin Coordinator for Girl Develop It, I support the organization and chapters in all things administrative. I also run a small agency, Haunted Mesa Design, building websites for small to medium-sized businesses.

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    How did you learn to program?

    I spent quite a few years working in the travel industry and had my first exposure to coding updating the website for our company. Once I figured out that I could change the look of the website just by adding a few lines of code, I was hooked. I started by learning HTML/CSS, .php and enough JavaScript to be dangerous, and now work almost exclusively with WordPress. One of the things I love about what I do now is that there’s something new to learn every day!

    What do you do when you’re not programming?

    I’m fortunate to live in a beautiful area of the country. When I’m not working, I’m often up in the mountains, photographing wildlife and landscapes.

    Follow Gretchen on Twitter at: @gretchenlynd

    Check out upcoming classes with GDI Fort Collins at:  https://www.girldevelopit.com/chapters/fort-collins

     

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