Sophia came from Uganda to Los Angeles in 2016. She earned a living as a caregiver while sleeping on the floor of an apartment living room shared with others. Being in LA, she was drawn to the technology industry and learned more about the it after being introduced to the St. Joseph Center Codetalk program. After interviewing to be a student in Codetalk, and making her way through two interviews, Sophia was selected for admission. Her interactions with members of Codetalk inspired her to invest her time in learning technical skills in computer science, to establish a solid foundation for a future career in the field.
St. Joseph’s Codetalk Web Technology Vocational Program is a job training program which empowers low-income women facing dire circumstances by providing them with skills in technology as a pathway to financial autonomy. Over 15 weeks, the program covers areas such as website development, front-end development, and user interface and experience. Through innovative teaching techniques and a cutting-edge curriculum, Codetalk helps women change their lives for the better.
Sophia took classes during the day and worked in the evenings at her caregiver job. Codetalk provided her with gift cards and a laptop which allowed her to focus on her training without added financial stress. Over the course of the program, she learned how to create websites and learned marketable computer programming skills relevant to the industry.
In addition to coding skills, Codetalk provides assistance in obtaining and keeping a job. While Sophia gained confidence in her coding skills, she was unsure about how to use those skills to get a job. Codetalk provided her with tools to navigate the job market through intensive training in drafting resumes, preparing for interviews, and creating website portfolios. Ten days after graduating from Codetalk, Sophia obtained a paid internship doing website development with Sony Pictures. Her training at Codetalk equipped her with the knowledge and skills needed for the role at Sony, but also with the basic web development skillset to learn new programming languages as well.
Codetalk is using technology and innovation to provide refugees, the homeless, and women in challenging life situations with a jumpstart on establishing a solid foundation in a promising career. With a mission to “change the trajectory” of their clients, Codetalk is helping women like Sophia create pathways that are not limited by their life circumstances.
