MARY GUO

In our first five weeks in the Women In Technology (WIT) program, we covered Employment and Life Skills (ELS) training which included communication skills, company culture, job search skills, interview tips, and job retention skills. We had many guest speakers join us and shared inspiring messages. My greatest takeaway from the ELS training was knowing where to access the information I needed and staying positive during my work search. 

The next eighteen weeks of study were technical training in web development. We started from scratch to learn the basics, then quickly progressed to modern tools including Python, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, REACT, Node.js, jQuery, and SQL. 

After completing the ELS and technical training, I was ready to start my work internship in the IT field. I was placed at SymmCom Inc. as an Application Developer, where I gained experience modifying Bash Scripts in cloud servers, importing log files to a MariaDB database using Python, installing and configuring a Moodle project, and learning ELK and DevOps. This work placement gave me the hands-on experience I needed to apply for jobs, as well as a current reference from the Calgary IT industry. 

I am so happy I attended this course. Every day I learned something new and I will remember many of the lessons for the rest of my life. 

In ELS I remember my instructor Sharmin saying, “Always find the positive messages from negative things.” This resonated with me when I received a very low mark on my second assignment in the IT section of the program. With Sharmin’s message in mind, I figured there was something I missed, and went back to relearn and understand my mistake to do better next time. From the ELS guest speakers, I learned that to be ready for a future in IT development we need to understand that technology is always changing and have to continue to learn and self-improve in order to be a part of this industry. 

“Every day I learned something new and I will remember many of the lessons for the rest of my life.
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On the technical side, I became more and more confident in my IT skills through the various lessons, assignments, projects and quizzes. I remember being so proud of myself and my team members when we presented our final capstone project to our peers. After the tech training, I felt ready to take on my practicum placement. 

I want to say a big thank you to my instructors Sharmin, Nageeb, and Rosanna. Everything you did for me was greatly appreciated and I couldn’t have done it without your kindness and support!

Mary has been working as a Web Developer at Focus Auto Design Inc. since January 2020. 

All persons welcome at making changes

Making Changes acknowledges the traditional territories of the Blackfoot Confederacy which includes the Siksika, Piikani, Kainai, the Tsuut’ina Nation and Stoney Nakoda Nations of Chiniki, Bearspaw and Wesley and the Metis people of Alberta, Regions 5 & 6. We honour the hardships that were endured by the peoples on this land to allow us to be in this space to do the work that we do in our community. We respect the culture of the peoples who walk through our doors and we strive to provide space for them. We acknowledge that Indigenous peoples continue to experience hardships and our agency will be champions for change in our daily service to community. Making Changes is committed to inclusivity and recognition of all peoples who make their homes in the Treaty 7 region of Southern Alberta.