IWD "Choose to Challenge"

Robert Walters and She Codes partnered for International Women's Day "Choose to Challenge" and created an online tutorial called "Cupcake Smash"

Jessie Kong - one of the runners up shares her experience

Can you share a little about your background?

5 years ago, I quit my job in Singapore and migrated to Perth to raise 2 young children.  Prior to that, I was a data reporting analyst for 6 years in a semiconductor company. In this role, through data extracting I helped the stakeholders identified process improvements, drive profitability by increasing wafer output and tool utilisation. In addition, I had a degree in chemistry and now I am studying Cert IV cybersecurity at TAFE.

Then 2 years ago, I embarked on my voluntary journey as a Piano Accompanist for the public school as well as an active volunteer with Chess Association of Western Australia to promote junior chess activities in Perth. I was amazed by the participation and the amount of time people are involved in the community including She Codes Australia and many other organisations like Robert Walters Group taking the initiative to close the gender gap for women in technology.

During my free time, I love to catch up with friends and do some outdoor activities with my children.

How did you come across the She Codes / Robert Walters IWD Cupcake Smash Challenge?

I came across IWD Coding Challenge from She Codes Facebook Page, LinkedIn as well as an email from She Codes Australia.

What inspired you to take part?

I was inspired by She Codes, at a 1-Day workshop that I attended in early March where I learnt about HTML/CSS/JS for the first time. Then the IWD Coding Challenge came along. I thought it would be great to apply what I learnt from the workshop in this challenge. At the start, I was sceptical about my ability to code the cupcake smash mini game. Then I read through the tutorial provided in this challenge, it was straightforward, just as simple as the tutorials I was given during the workshop. The She Codes Team has done a marvelous job making coding contents easy and effective for novices. This motivates and builds my confidence and gives me the courage to keep going from start to finish, and I am extremely proud of the cupcake mini game I coded.

What did you like about the challenge/experience?

I like the fact that Robert Walters Group and She Codes caught my attention with the colourful, interactive cupcake smash minigame and the prizes, empowering women to have a taste of coding through such a fun way. I am very fortunate that I have found such a supportive community, and very thankful to many wonderful women who made this campaign happen, providing a welcoming platform for us to learn new technology regardless of their background. Through this challenge, I picked up a few things. First, do not be afraid to try, coding is fun and is not boring. Second, coding gave me an ability to make anything want. Finally,

"It gave me the confidence to believe that I can find a solution to any problems, whether it is coding error, or complex issues in life"

What is your career goal?

My short-term career goal is to get a foot in the door in the tech industry and contribute towards She Codes' vision of achieving 100,000 women in tech by 2025. My long-term goal is to inspire more women into technology, be an active member to promote and reach out to many more women for technology.

You can play Jessie's game here - https://codepen.io/jengkong/full/jOVJywQ

About Jodie Gillespie

Jodie Gillespie is the Associate Director for the Tech and Transformation division in WA. An experienced recruitment professional with 16 year's experience. Robert Walters have been a proud sponsor of She Codes for 5 years.