Devi-Labs Blog

Devi-Labs is delighted to announce that Paige McLeod Kroll started a new position at the American Library Association in January 2023 as the IT Business Analyst!

Paige began her journey with Devi-Labs as an Assistant Director of Governance at the Illinois CPA Society in Fall of 2022.

Paige: “IT has always been something I have kept my eye on and loved learning about. When I told my partner I was interested in learning how to code, he suggested I do some research on different classes and bootcamps. I knew I needed something where I interacted with people, but I couldn’t afford to shell out thousands of dollars most bootcamps cost. I also knew that my full-time job and being a new mom wouldn’t allow me to focus on coding full-time. Devi-Labs was the perfect answer for me. Python 101 allowed me to start thinking differently about computers, IT, and coding in general. After completing the five-week course, I started talking to people within my own network on how I could make the move to IT full-time. One of my friends happily referred me to a few places! I was really nervous to start interviewing, but a couple helpful tips from Devina and I was well on my way.

I am happy to announce that I have recently accepted a job with the American Library Association as their IT Business Analyst. Devi-Labs and Devina have been there at every step. Through the five-week course, both mentoring me and finding me a mentor and even helping me walk through negotiating the terms of my offer. I wouldn’t be here without Devina and Devi-Labs. I cannot wait to learn more skills and use them to accelerate my career!”

Devina: “Paige is the reason Devi-Labs exists. We want working Mom’s to consider flexible careers in technology, and I am willing to go till the ends of the earth to make that happen. I can’t even imagine how different my world would look if my mom had these kinds of opportunities when she first moved to the USA.”

- Devina (Founder)

Introducing Nancy Martínez

first Devi-Labs student to begin a bootcamp

Devi-Labs is delighted to celebrate Nancy Martínez for embarking on a Software Engineering Bootcamp with General Assembly this month!

"I never considered programming as a career path, until I completed the intro to coding class. One of the main reasons I was drawn to programming was its versatility; I could take this new skill and merge it with my other interests, like art. Devina’s encouragement helped me gain confidence to pursue this career goal. After months of researching and figuring out how to move forward, I am thrilled to share that I have been accepted into the Adobe Digital Academy Software Engineering Immersive. I’m excited to be continuing the adventure I started at Devi-Labs.” - @delmarnan (Nancy, Python 101, Oct 2022)

Nancy began her journey with Devi-Labs as an accomplished and quality-focused Childcare Professional with 5 years of leadership experience in the education industry. She is a diligent student in the classroom and I am so glad she is exploring this new path.

We are so excited for Nancy and all she is about to learn over the next quarter! Please join me in celebrating Nancy and all her hard work on instagram: @devi.labs

- Devina (Founder)

Why Create An Original Curriculum?

This second decision regarding creating the Python course from scratch was a more difficult one as there were pre-existing Python-teaching courses already out on the Internet. We perused the Internet and found great sources from organizations like Khan Academy, Udemy, Crash Course, and even Repl.it. These curriculums all had their own issues, however, including leaving out key concepts, a lack of partner/group work, an expectation of previous programming knowledge, and a lack of room for students to innovate. To make sure the Devi-Labs course covered all key programming concepts, emphasized individuals’ creativity, and had room to improve, the decision was made to create the curriculum from scratch. However, even though the curriculum belongs to Devi-Labs, many exercises and ideas have been inspired by the great work of other curriculum creators noted above. The next blog post will cover why our curriculum is centered around the use of repl.it!

- Ria B. (Apprentice)

Why Teach Python?

Programming can seem scary at first, especially when people are expecting nonsensical words and symbols, and that is why Python is so popular for beginners in addition to being an incredibly powerful and useful tool for experienced developers. Therefore, Python was a unanimous choice for Devi-Labs for its simplicity, close resemblance to the english language and powerful computation possibilities. 

The reason the intro course isn’t focused on a block-by-block programming language like Scratch is because while the former is easier, typing out one’s code opens up the beginner to more programming practices like checking for syntax errors. It is also more tricky to transition to a more difficult language like C++ or Java from block-programming than it is from Python, a language that requires typing.

- Ria B. (Apprentice)