Coding Camp for Beginners in Partnership with Brekete Family

“I’m Kelys Dos Santos, and I have successfully completed the coding and programming course in the brekete/techpatriate code camp in April 2022. In this article, I will share my experiences and lessons I’ve learned during the days I’ve spent in class.

At first I was quite nervous and insecure about joining. As a dropout who hadn’t been schooling for over 5 years, it was surreal reliving a school-like experience. Socializing had become difficult for me, as I was sort of isolated during the years I didn’t go to school.

I remember waking up on that Tuesday morning, and feeling a kick of adrenaline, thinking about the fact that I was going to have to socialize. I had mixed feelings about how well I could perform, but in the end I concluded that I would push myself to my limit.

To study coding was a recommendation from my Dad, but as soon as I started I felt the passion building in me. The first day was very interesting and refreshing. I learned things in a day, which I doubted I could understand so easily. During the 5 days we learned a lot about HTML, CSS and even a little touch of JavaScript. We worked on projects and milestones together, which made the learning process easy and quick.

I had always been an impatient person; someone who easily gave up and got frustrated. The first day, I thought I would never be able to cope with others, because most students are probably more educated than me. When instructors told us about their own struggles, and ways to cope with them, I was inspired. I decided to be patient with myself, take my time to learn and adapt to the pace that was comfortable for me.

Mr. Uyi advised us a lot on how to start a career as a programmer, and encouraged us to be bold and confident. I had the opportunity to practice presentation in front of many other students. I pushed myself out of my comfort zone, and I acquired confidence in the process. Ever since that day I overcame my stage-fright, and I started loving presenting and speaking in public.

I realized how easy it is to relate to people, all you need to do is be yourself. Confidence doesn’t come by pretending to be who you’re not, but by bringing out the rawest version of yourself, without minding the reactions of others. Life comes with countless of opportunities, even though certain circumstances make it seem like there’s no way out of misery.

I’m a passionate writer, I’ve studied the basics of mass communication, and I had worked years on a writing career just to discover, that I had no foundation to actually build the career on. I was scared to lose my future, because I lost motive and drive. I began abandoning my passion for writing, and fell into a deep depression. I felt like there was no other thing for me to do than to write things like scripts or books or articles… Well, I was wrong! When I started studying coding, I realized that you can combine your passions with literally any other skill. Having multiple skills doesn’t mean you’re uncertain about what you want to become, but simply makes you more fruitful. I saw people older than me participating, and so I realized, “Why would it be too late for me?”.

In the end I felt emotionally bound to the place and people, to the extend that I almost shed tears on the last day. I want to continue feeling productive, the way the few days in the code camp made me feel. The code camp felt like a fresh start for me, mentally and physically. Aside from being able to code and understand codes, I became much more confident and smart through the experience.

Thank you to the team and everyone who made this possible for me and so many others.”