Go back
The 2nd RailsGirls event was hosted this Saturday after a 3-year hiatus. Because we’ve been itching to get this event going, we gladly jumped at the opportunity to sponsor it and for myself, participate.
There was a mix of skill levels at the event but I was obviously the most beginner. By the end of the event, I was able to create a functional app, push it on Github and deploy it on Heroku. Given that I work with developers and am not one myself, it was pretty cool to get some hands-on experience on the type of things that they do. How can I create something similar to what I use and see on a daily basis by writing a few lines of code? It was exhilarating.
The day of course couldn’t go on without a few hundred errors but the mentors and Maricris were around to help out. Following the guide on the Rails Girls website was pretty straightforward and by the latter part of the day, we were tasked to build on the app we we’ve been working on as part of the mini hackathon. The participants showcased their work and really highlighted their creativity and their new-found skills.
Maricris Nonato, a seasoned RoR developer led the day’s events and shared her personal views on the current landscape for women in the industry (check out her thoughts on the event!). Similar questions were directed at me because of my responsibilities scoping out interns and potential hires. We both agreed that there really is a visible minority but we’re starting to see companies and employers push for talent in the female pool.
Through events like RailsGirls and internship programs like the one we hold at ÆLOGICA, we are investing in cultivating this community. There was a buzz after the day’s events as everyone spoke of wanting to seriously pursue Ruby on Rails so I urge organizations to lend a helping hand because there’s obviously an untapped market out there for talented and passionate developers.
All the participants including the volunteers