How a coding scholarship transformed a musician to software engineer

How a coding scholarship transformed a musician to software engineer

Christina Wu didn’t choose the conventional path to program engineer.

“I’m viewing that I really do not necessarily need all these levels to do this type of function,” explained Wu, who was formerly on staff members at a faculty and is a classically trained musician.

“I think engineering is about acquiring inventive options to difficulties and that can be used to very various fields,” said Wu.

She knew she preferred to make the changeover to software package but wasn’t absolutely sure how.

“I had been hunting at different bootcamps on-line to do after get the job done, but I found that a good deal of them have been exceptionally high priced,” discussed Wu.

An Instagram article led her to a one of a kind scholarship system for underrepresented people by a startup named Tech Elevator and Niantic, the company famed for Pokémon Go.

Wu was a single of 20 supplied a cost-free, 14-7 days coding bootcamp and she’s now in the middle of a 6-month apprenticeship with Niantic.

“The intention for my apprenticeship is to ultimately build my personal game,” explained Wu.

“It’s definitely vital for us at Niantic to have a business that is assorted in just about every solitary way achievable,” begun Jyarland Daniels, Director of Range & Inclusion at Niantic.

Niantic’s upcoming augmented fact sport, called Peridot, launches Could 9.

“We want to make positive that as this technologies is getting developed that all voices are staying represented,” said Daniels. “If we are heading to inspire men and women to explore the world together which is all people today that is coming collectively and that is what this plan permits us to do.”

Now, Wu is effectively on her way to finding a new route in the tech world.

“I think it would be good for other firms to present it just for the reason that it attracts a quite diverse team of people today and I think to clear up a whole lot of troubles that your enterprise could facial area that it is great to have distinctive people that can imagine in different ways,” concluded Wu.

While Niantic hasn’t still introduced particulars on a likely upcoming round of scholarships, there are other prospects for tech scholarships.

Listed here are some locations to glance for a plan that may well in shape your requirements:

Tech Elevator

AnitaB.org’s Apprenticeship Pathway Application

Nationwide Middle for Ladies & Information and facts Technological know-how

The Hispanic IT Executive Council