From Tech Novice to App Developer: This is Anta's Story

When Anta Thiane moved from Senegal to the United States, she couldn't have imagined that a few years later she'd be developing a coding education app for Google Play. But that's exactly what happened at Hack the Hood's recent "Hack the Town" event, where emerging young developers from across the Bay Area came together to create mobile applications that serve their communities.

"Sometimes you want to change your life but you don't have the means to do it. This is the chance for that starting point," says Anta, now 20 and living in Emeryville. Her journey with Hack the Hood began with a Python bootcamp in Fall 2021, where she discovered her passion for programming.

"After the bootcamp, I realized this is actually really fun and I can do this," she reflects.

Learning Beyond Code

At the hackathon, Anta and her team developed CODE-E, a Duolingo-style app for coding education that features 3-D gaming and immersive, interactive learning experiences.

"There's a lot of apps that teach programming, but they're not interactive or fun," Anta explains. "We wanted to show how enjoyable coding actually is."

While building the app, Anta and her team gained invaluable experience in planning, development, design, and project management. The team incorporated real-world applications into their challenges and questions, ultimately switching to Unity Game Development technology and the C-Sharp language for implementation.

"The most exciting part was solving problems in groups," Anta shares. "We all have our own ideas but we brought them together to create a winning app." This collaborative experience provided insight into how apps are developed in real-world settings.

Looking Forward

The overwhelming success and positive feedback from Hack the Hood's inaugural hackathon demonstrates the vital need for events that bring together diverse voices in technology.

For Anta, her journey continues through Techtonica's full-stack web development bootcamp while her team's CODE-E app moves toward deployment on Google Play. As these young innovators demonstrate, technology's greatest breakthroughs often emerge when we create spaces where talent, diversity, and opportunity intersect. Through their innovative solutions and collaborative spirit, participants like Anta aren't just building apps—they're building bridges to a more inclusive digital future.

Help Us Go Beyond the Code. Stories like these are made possible by supporters like you. Your gift to our Beyond the Code campaign helps us provide not just technical training, but the comprehensive support that transforms talent into opportunity. Join us in building a tech future that reflects the full brilliance of our communities.