Demo Day: A Time to Celebrate Graduates and the CCS Community

GUEST POST

After 12 weeks of being immersed into the ins and outs of software development, Demo Day is a reason to celebrate! On Friday, July 23rd, family, friends, and community members showed up to support our newest graduates and their projects. The energy on Demo Day is always exciting, but with this being the first in-person event since the start of COVID-19, the energy in the room was palpable!

Lelia King, Executive Director, describes not only the accomplishments of Eric, Kate, Sayeda, and Scotty over the last three months but of the community that they are now a part of.

“I can wholeheartedly recommend these graduates as hard workers, people who have specific goals and who have the tenacity to reach those goals. At Build Carolina, we are building programs and training opportunities to help make that talent ecosystem even stronger. These graduates are a testament to the work we have done over the last three years and will continue to do. This is part of something even bigger. You are part of something bigger. You are all part of an ecosystem of tech talent.”

If you have never been to Demo Day, you are missing out. The cohort presents the individual projects they have worked on for the last three weeks of boot camp in a drop-in-style event. They have the opportunity to apply the front-end and back-end fundamentals they learned in the classroom to a new application/product they think is missing from any particular market.

Last week, the graduates presented four unique projects: a volunteer-based event management system for Greenville, a public school portal for volunteers to assist students who struggle with reading, a patient portal for dental health records with Upstate-specific office information, and a videogame library where users can review, share and keep track of their gaming experiences. Not only do they showcase what they've learned and how they apply that knowledge to a product, but as an attendee, you get a glimpse as to who these new tech professionals are and how they can make an impact in their respective communities. Eric, Kate, Sayeda, and Scotty all provided that with confidence.

"My biggest accomplishment over the last 12 weeks has been the ability to feel confident entering the tech field and starting a career as a software developer, which is something I never would have imagined was a possibility for me prior to attending CCS," said Kate Franks.

Scotty Wyatt, a fellow graduate from the cohort, shared advice for those who may be thinking about making the career switch and applying to code school.

"If you are looking to apply to a code school, there is a reason you are looking. Take the jump and do it. It was a scary thing to do as far as quitting my job and starting code school. But it was so worth it. I am so much happier now and enjoying life instead of feeling like I was stuck at a job that I didn't particularly enjoy."

Demo Day is a celebration of professional accomplishments, yes. However, Demo Day has also become a celebration of the local tech industry and the support this community provides the newest professionals entering the field. It's an incredible way to end each cohort as the graduates begin networking and making their own connections with their new careers ahead of them.