Turing ModOne PD
- Write 1-2 paragraphs about your StrengthsFinder themes: How have you seen yourself using these strengths at Turing? Has your understanding of these strengths changed since you first reflected on them? If so, how?
My StrengthsFinder themes were futuristic, learner, individualization, focus, and input. Many of these strengths have become very useful to me especially during my time at Turing.
My futuristic strength has helped me see what I have been learning in the big picture and to stay motivated about the more fundamental aspects of our learning because I know they will help me realize some of my visions for software I want to build. I have always had visions and many ideas for how things can work better and more efficiently. Gaining the skills to build things around those visions is very exciting to me!
The learner strength is the reason I became interested in code in the first place. I had been out of school for a few years, and realized I need something in my life that was mentally challenging to me and thats what led me to become so interested in coding. The tech and web development landscape will always be changing, so in order to be successful in this field I think you need to be excited about learning!
My individualization strength is what makes me motivated to meet and connect with as many people as I can, and I’ve already met a ton of great people at Turing! I’ve always believed you can learn something unique from every person you meet.
Focus is a pretty important strength to have because it helps you see the light at the end of the tunnel when things get very difficult. Especially during a program like Turing, it can be very easy to get demotivated when things get hard, so having that end goal set and being able to keep that outcome in mind can help get you through those tough moments.
The input strength in the context of my probably refers to my need to collect all available knowledge about a subject. When I get enthused about a topic, I really try to learn everything about it. Previously, those topics for me have been music theory, drone photography, the golf swing and many other things. Web development is such a broad landscape that being able to gain a lot of knowledge quickly about many different subjects is very valuable to me.
I wouldn’t say my understanding of these strengths has changed dramatically, but its interesting to have a name to a concept that maybe I knew I was pretty good at, but didn’t necessarily identify it specifically.
- Write a story about your Turing experience so far: When have you struggled? How have you dealt with struggle? When have you succeeded at Turing? How did you accomplish those successes?
My experience at Turing has been great so far. I’ve met a lot of good people and written a lot of code. Coming into the program with probably a lot more coding experience than most other students has been an interesting dynamic. Since a bootcamp like Turing is so intensive and quickly paced, I knew I wanted to have a good amount of self-study before coming into something like this so that I wouldn’t get completely overwhelmed and I would be able to ask insightful questions. So far this plan has worked out very well and I’m really glad I was able to do it that way. I still have a lot to learn, but having at least a base knowledge of all the topics we will cover at Turing will enable me to sink into these topics much more deeply.
One thing I’ve struggled with a little bit is patience and knowing that we’re not just picking up right where I left off in my self study. This has been a good thing though since I have been able to brush up on my fundamentals and make them very strong. One thing I struggle with as well is a little anxiety that we won’t get a ton of time to spend on some of the more complicated topics I would like to get to.
I’ve had many successes so far. I think all of my projects have pretty well so far. Although none of them have been quite as perfect as I would’ve liked. I think all the successes have come from establishing a good connection with my partners and just putting in the time and hard work.
- After you practice storytelling in the session, answer this question: What was particularly easy or difficult about telling your story? What are 1-2 steps that you can take to continue to improve your abilities to tell your story, talk about yourself with ease, and examine your strengths?
Telling my story hasn’t been that hard for me because I’ve had to do it a lot and I’m proud to tell my story. As a musician I get asked about my job a lot so I’m used to talking about it quite a bit. The hardest thing about talking about myself and my story is to proudly convey my story, but still remain humble and not have it seem like I love talking about myself or anything. One step I could take is to seek out some coaching on how to proudly convey everything I’ve done, but not have it seem like I’m someone who is completely self-indulgent. I think the best way to do that is probably to pretty much only go into talking a lot about yourself and your story if someone specifically asks.