Weekly wins: a TA's guide to success at Carolina Code School (the end!)
Hello everyone,
It’s Chelsea Snider, your friendly neighborhood teaching assistant (TA), back with another update on the progress of Cohort 18 at Carolina Code School. First and foremost, if you’ve been following these blogs, I want to extend a heartfelt thank you. Thanks to amazing people like you, I’ve been able to keep this blog series going.
I have some big news: this is our last blog post for cohort 18 because Demo Day is fast approaching! If you haven’t registered yet, please do so! This is a special event for the students to celebrate their accomplishments, and anyone is welcome to attend. Whether you’re part of the local software developer community, scouting for new talent, or simply interested in what Carolina Code School is all about, join us in celebrating the success of our students Jaylen Curry, Megan Marson, and Santiago “Santi” Mariani!
It feels bittersweet to know that the end of this class is near, but I am so proud of the students at Carolina Code School, as well as our staff, alumni, and everyone who has participated and volunteered. Just like the classic phrase, “it takes a village to raise a child”, similarly, it takes an entire group of dedicated staff and volunteers from our amazing community of Carolina Code School alumni to raise a group of exceptionally talented junior developers!
Being a part of Carolina Code School as a teachers assistant rather than a student has shown me how much work and effort goes into preparing our students for a new and exciting career as a software developer. My admiration and respect for the amazing people here, and hard work that goes into teaching full stack developer bootcamp has increased exponentially since i’ve been invited into the program as a teachers assistant. I want to thank everyone from Carolina Code School, Develop Carolina, and the alumni and mentors who have graciously and selflessly helped the students throughout this journey.
Now, for the student updates! This week, they’ve been busy bees building backends and setting up databases. A common challenge has been setting up authentication and creating key pairings between tables in their databases. With only a week left, they’re feeling the pressure, but their meticulous planning has paid off. Crunch time is never a fun time, but the groundwork they’ve laid ahead of them has paved the way for success in a high pressure project. This experience not only teaches technical skills but also valuable lessons like managing projects and meeting deadlines.
You all will soon be able to see all the hard work and effort that the students have put into their full-stack applications in a few days, so get prepared to be impressed!
For anyone out there considering joining Carolina Code School and you’re curious about what the students have gone through from the start, to the end of the journey, I’ve decided to ask the students a few questions.
Question: Now since you all are working on final projects, what would you tell your past self about going to a coding bootcamp?
Megan: “Stop doubting yourself, you can do it! Step out of your comfort zone and do it.”
Santi: “Don’t hesitate! Your love of creation will only be amplified by this experience, and you will learn new and fascinating skills that you will be able to enjoy for years to come.”
Jaylen: “Learning Full-Stack development will be hard, but you are smart and it will always click together at the end.”
Question: What would you tell people who are too scared to start programming?
Megan: “Feel the fear but do it anyway. 3-2-1 go.”
Santi: “If you feel a hunch you might enjoy it, you owe it to yourself to explore the possibility! This has been life changing, and I look forward to seeing the opportunities that will continue to make themselves available thanks to giving this a chance.”
Jaylen: “You should start because no matter what I say it's a scary thing to do and it's so different and such a new world it will always feel foreign to you. So just embrace it!”
Question: If someone you knew was considering going to a bootcamp, would you recommend Carolina Code School? Why, or why wouldn't you recommend CCS?
Megan: “I CANNOT SCREAM IT LOUD ENOUGH...Carolina Code School changed my life. The instructors, admin staff, alumni, and Build Carolina folks are hands down some of the best people on the planet. Your journey is truly at the center of everything, and they go above and beyond to make sure you succeed.”
Santi: “I would definitely recommend Carolina Code School! The support here is very holistic — from the technical to the emotional, and they will help prepare you not just as a developer, but as a professional making your entry into a new world. Worth every penny!”
Jaylen: “I have already recommended CCS to a couple of friends of mine. I think this is a great school with an amazing teacher. Not only will Sean teach you in a way you will understand, he really believes in his students, and that's the best type of person to teach you a new skill.”
As we bring cohort 18 to a close, we want to remind everyone that anyone can be a software developer. The vast majority of our students at Carolina Code School are career changers, people from all walks of life converge here in our classroom. Each and every alumni who is a part of Carolina Code School has helped shape the local development community and helped push the bar for the next cohort. Who knows, maybe you could be the next cohort yourself. Don’t let fear hold you back from your dreams.
If you’ve made it this far, I want to thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog series about what it’s like to be a teacher's assistant for cohort 18. It has been my utmost pleasure in helping the students here, and enlightening you about what it’s like to be a student at Carolina Code School. As always, stay curious and keep coding, and please, if you can, show out for cohort 18 on Demo Day! We would love to have you visit and see what it’s like to become a software developer yourself.
