Meet Sayeda Khaled: Alumni Q + A

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Originally from Sudan, Sayeda Khaled came to the United States to study Electronics Engineering at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. After starting a family, traveling back to Sudan and eventually landing in Greenville, SC, a conversation with a fellow CCS alumnus stuck with her as she determined how she wanted to return to work. Two years later, she applied and began her time with CCS. Read on to learn more about Sayeda!

Tell me about yourself! 

I am originally from Sudan, came here with my sister to study in Nebraska. After graduation, I moved to California and after meeting my husband, we traveled back home to Sudan for nine years before deciding to move to Greenville. My sister and her family lived here. It was so strange for us to have been so close for so many years and to now have children who don't even know each other! Both of our families didn't want that so we moved here and have loved it ever since! Now our kids spend so much time together! It's wonderful.

What's an interesting/fun fact about yourself? 

As I mentioned, I've traveled quite a bit! I lived in Egypt as well but have also traveled to Europe, Africa, Asia, many places here, I really love it. I enjoy getting to experience different cultures. The last year it has been more difficult to do this, but I look forward to being able to travel again soon. 

What experience/situation made you want to explore computers/tech and apply to CCS? 

I was working crazy hours when I first had my kids. They were younger and I didn't want to miss out on them growing up when we came back to the states. So I decided to be a stay-at-home mom. That was until last year, 2020. They were a bit older then, starting to hang out with their friends more, etc. so I looked for work and ended up as a 2020 census field manager. With everything that ended up happening in 2020 with COVID, it was an extremely interesting experience. After that, I knew I wanted to go back to work, but wanted it to be different from the work I left. 

I wanted a job that was challenging, I love problem-solving. In 2019, I met Christina Roberts, a fellow alumnus, and she had talked about her experience at CCS. It took me a couple of years, but what she said to me made me realize I wanted to try this. So I applied to CCS!

What was your experience like during the 12-week boot camp?

It was challenging to say the least! We had no plans besides code school for 12 weeks. I had that mindset from the beginning which helped my family plan accordingly. Life happens and but you keep pushing forward. 

I never had coding/programming experience before. One of the first days I remember Mady asking us to open up the terminal and I remember thinking, "what the heck is the terminal?" Everything was new and challenging for me. There was a lot of confusion in the beginning, so the first couple of weeks were really tough. That, I think, was partly due to my background in hardware/engineering and the way I’m used to learning. Now, I am using different languages and frameworks than what we learned in code school. Code School teaches you how to learn and I have been able to apply those skills at my new job.

Tell me about what you are doing now! 

About three weeks after Demo Day this summer, I started as a web developer at RTO National. It's been great! There definitely has been a transition as I’m learning the new frameworks and languages that the company uses, but code school helped me learn and develop a valuable set of tools and skills on how to immerse myself into learning different languages. 

What has the transition been like from being a student at CCS to working at RTO National? 

Coming from a place where you are given instructions and assignments to work through to a professional setting where the expectations are different and the tech frames are different than what you have been taught, made me anxious. I had to take the time and feel out my new teammates, but they made that transition very easy for me. They have taught me a lot already. Because of that, I am feeling more confident and comfortable in what I am needing to do. 

Knowing how and when to ask questions was difficult for me in code school. That did not come easy, but having that experience has helped me here now as I continue to learn. It's been challenging but I am enjoying it a lot. 

I had an amazing cohort. We worked together really well during our time in the program. Still, even now, we are checking in on each other. I very much valued that time and group work and I am grateful to have that same atmosphere in my job. 

What was the most valuable takeaway from your experience with CCS?

Getting introduced to the amazing community. I learned from every single one of them. If I ever need guidance on anything I know I have a community of people to touch on, Mady and Lelia included.

Mady believed in me and pushed me to keep trying and challenging myself. She knew I could do it even when I wasn't sure I'd be able to complete the program. It's that kind of support that has been amazing. 

What does it mean to be a part of the CCS alumnus community?

I have always been a believer in giving back. I like to give back as much as I can. Sometimes it's just about listening and providing the support and motivation that someone may need. During bootcamp someone said to me, "If you ever think about quitting, just don't." It's the simple, small things like that that can make a difference for someone so I'm hoping to be able to do that for future students. 

What advice do you have for someone thinking about CCS?

The most important thing is that you enjoy this line of work. When I thought about what I wanted to pursue, I knew I liked to be challenged, problem-solving, continuous training and education, etc. Make sure that whatever you enjoy is something you can apply in this line of work. 

You have to be dedicated for 12 weeks. If all of that aligns with you and your family, then you should take a leap of faith and do it! I gave 110% of my effort into my time with code school - even when I didn't think I had it. It took a lot of support from my kids, my family. Having that support system in place and setting yourself (and your family up) during those 12 weeks so everyone can stay on track was tough, but worth it. Stay focused and get it done. I am so grateful I did.