How I got into software development

📖 Note: This post is from the archives. It may reflect outdated views or a previous name.

I was introduced to programming by my elementary school’s vice principal. I was in the second grade and twice a week, our VP would bring my class to the computer lab. He would try to teach seven-year-olds CS concepts. The majority of my classmates didn’t show an interest, but I couldn’t get enough. I was fascinated by the idea that I could tell a computer what to do.

He started out by teaching us HTML and CSS. I remember working on countless websites about tigers and lions. I would spend hours of my own time learning as much as I could before the next class. After a few weeks, I was promoted to “teacher’s assistant” and helped explain difficult concepts to my peers. Throughout my junior years, I was exposed to other scripting languages (like JS and Python). He eventually retired and stopped teaching and because nobody else could teach this, the classes were cancelled. But he sparked a flame in me which is responsible for motivating me through the hard parts.

When my house burned to the ground in 2011, my HP notebook was destroyed and I raised enough money to purchase my first Mac.

I fell in love with Objective-C and iOS. My passion for telling a computer what to do extended to mobile. I focused on honing my Objective-C (and design) chops for two years, sifting through tutorials on YouTube and indie blogs.

I submitted an application for Apple’s WWDC scholarship contest for three years and on my third attempt, I was awarded a scholarship for the conference. I was absolutely ecstatic.

My grandparents drove me to the conference in San Francisco and I learned so much from such an amazing group. I couldn’t fully describe what it felt like to finally feel completely accepted by my peers. All developers. All outliers. After WWDC, I decided to stop chasing a degree and focus on learning. I dropped out of school and since then I have learned so much.

I honestly owe my career path to that one vice principal. I hope he knows that he single-handedly changed one of his students’ lives.