3 Female Coders Who Will Change The World | International Programmers' Day 2018

International Programmers’ Day, which lands on the 13th of September, is a day to celebrate the people who are the masterminds behind creating computer software. Every year, young men and women are showing more interest in coding. We spoke with three of our female programmers based out of OneCoWork to gain some insight on coding and their journeys to where they are today. Here’s what they said:

Juneza Niyazi 

“When you give the machine codes it gives you designs you never even knew were possible.”

Juneza trained as an Architect before realizing the importance of coding in design and in general. She enjoys being able to visualize what she codes, so she uses Java to process designs. She shares with us that it’s all about communicating with the machine, because when you give the machine codes it gives you designs you never even knew were possible.

Graduating from Harbour Space with Interaction Design she hopes to find a career that incorporates technology and design. In 20 years from now, Juneza thinks coding can lead us to explore questions like “can you be in two places at the same time?” Another goal of hers is to create a space to educate people about antiquated water systems and update them, so that recycled water can be accessed in scarce areas.

Juneza’s Advice: If you want to learn to code, start coding! Collaborate with others that are out there coding to share the knowledge. Attend meetups for women who code and pay no attention to the nonsensical misconception that women “can’t code.”

Karina Papalezova 

“We can create our own world and create the environment around us.”

Karina is a self-taught coder who thinks it’s harder for women to see coding as a career path. After graduating with a degree in advertising, she started to work with artists, which she enjoys most. She explains that there’s nothing more rewarding than realizing an artist's vision and sharing it the way they meant it, but it can be challenging to understand and translate.

Karina’s first portfolio was a website she made from scratch and has totally evolved since then, something she’s extremely proud to share. In 5 years from now, she plans to continue working with artists, individuals and freelancers rather than big companies because she likes exploring with people. Karina thinks it’s important to be able to speak the language of the person creating the project and notes that in many ways, translating into code is similar to translating spoken languages.

Karina’s Advice: Consider coding as a part of the work you do because it will expand your opportunities and make you a more attractive prospective employee. Also, never forget that as coders but also in life, we can create our own world and create the environment around us.

Shannon Bering

“When you know how to code, you have the power of choice. You can reach everything, achieve anything.”

Shannon is a remote developer for a startup in the Philippines, having taught computer science for a year. She enjoys being in control of all of the little things that a program does. Even though Computer Science was never her first option, she decided to give it a try and is now at Harbour Space for her Data Science Master's Degree. 

Shannon is still in the search for that one project that she’s really passionate about and looking forward to it. In 10 years from now, she sees herself leading her own startup. Being in the environment at OneCoWork has given her ideas and opened her up to the idea of starting her own company, doing what she wants to do. 

Shannon’s Advice: See and read articles about coding in art, music and every other aspect of life. When you know how to code, you have the power of choice. You can reach everything and achieve anything.

A big thank you to Juneza, Karina and Shannon for sharing their stories and giving some solid advice for anyone who may be interested in pursuing coding! Keep up the excellent work ladies. We hope that all of the young male and female programmers are inspired by this article to continue pushing the limits and reach their full potential with coding. Happy Programmers’ Day from OneCoWork! 

Bridget Sleap is the newest member of the OneCoWork team. Originally from New York, she majors in Communications & PR and is launching her career into media and journalism.  

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