About Me

Greetings! My name is TaLea Carpenter and I'm a Software Engineer apprentice looking to creatively blend my passion for music and technology!
I'm currently an apprentice at a program called Techtonica. Techtonica is a six month intensive tech training program for women and non-binary adults with low incomes.

The Journey

It all started with a trip to the grocery store one day back in 2014. While heading for the checkout, I noticed a man wearing a t-shirt that read: "Coding Is The New Literacy". It sparked my interest because as someone who likes to think of themselves as literate to some degree, I value reading and learning new things. Although it sparked my interest, it wasn't something I thought I could learn. Fast forward to the year 2017 and lo and behold: my husband had entered into a Bootcamp based in Oakland, California and made learning to code more of a real tangibility for me. He encouraged me to learn, but at the time I didn't have much time to commit to learning due to homeschooling the children full time. It was during the Summer of 2017 that I took the leap and began self-studying using online resources. I didn't have access to a computer at the time, so when I couldn't make it to the library to work on Codecademy, I was using the Sololearn app on my cell phone to study and take notes. I was a little intimidated by how challenging it was for me to grasp the concepts, but I was determined to stick with it.

Shortly after completing my first tutorial on JavaScript and feeling like I didn't grasp much of it was when I first found out about Techtonica. I didn't feel fully prepared to apply for their apprenticeship program, but I felt as though it would be a good way to reach beyond my comfort zone and get into the habit of doing things that I felt would be great learning experiences. So I took the leap and applied! After an intense three month application process, I was accepted to the inaugural apprenticeship with an acceptance rate of 8%! During the course of this six month process, we've covered a breadth of different technologies with an emphasis on Full Stack JavaScript. This experience has been nothing short of amazing. There have been plenty of highs and lows but after going through this apprenticeship, I'm certain that this is something that gives a sense of fulfillment that was missing. I know without a doubt that becoming a Software Engineer is for me, I finally feel like I've found a space where I belong and can be myself and do what I love to do most and that's build and create things.