Colgan_Gear_Up_gist

1. What were your reflections from the video?
- Watching this video, it's increasingly apparent that I can do a better job of examining my own implicit biases. On a grand 
social level, I try my best to be aware of the priveledges afforded to me as a Cis gendered white man. I also realize though,
that these biases can unconsciously carry over to the professional world, and perhaps I haven't given that enough consideration
in my professional career thus far. I think back to hiring, and how relatively easy I may have had it thus far in my life
AS a cis-gendered white man to be hired and brought into a workplace, compared to my peers in minority and underrepresented 
groups. It's definitely a wake-up call to try to learn more, and understand how implicit biases impact the workplace, and 
professional career development for various individuals and communities. 


2. In what ways have you examined your implicit biases before coming to Turing?
- As I mentioned in my previous answer, I think I have tried my best to be aware of my biases and privileges on a macro social 
scale. As in, I know that there are many daily and unspoken privledged afforded to me as a cis-gendered white man. I was really 
intrigued that Turing took the time to ask about my opinions on diversity in the workplace and in this field, during the 
interview portion of the application. I think from that moment, I began to look at these biases and privileges more in the 
context of the workplace and hiring process. 


3. What kind of software do you imagine building in the future? How will understanding biases (or avoiding understanding biases)
impact your product? 
- I would hope to be working on a major website platform, or something similar in the future. Without fully being conscious of this in the past, I realized I have seen examples of how implicit biases can impact products. For example, recently Twitter 
had been making waves because of their photo preview feature when scrolling through your newsfeed/timeline. To sum it up, the 
photo preview feature seemed to have a bias towards not showing people of color in the photo preview, despite being the focal 
point of the photo, vs white people shown in the photo preview being seen very easily. This led people to accuse Twitter of 
using a data model that is implicitly biased to show white people in their photo previews. I think this is a crazy example of 
how our implicit biases can affect the product at large. I think understanding your user base and the data that is available to 
one all goes a long way towards correcting this problem. 


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*“All of us live complex lives that require a great deal of juggling for survival,” Carty and Mohanty said in an email.* 
*“What that means is that we are actually living at the intersections of overlapping systems of privilege and oppression.”*


1. When you consider the way you move through the world, what elements of your identity are you most aware of on a daily basis?




- When I consider the way I navigate the world, I have to remember that I am a cis-gendered white man. Historically, 
I am afforded the most privileges of any particular subset of American Citizen, with the least oppressions of any particular
group as well. I have tried to grow to become aware of these privileges and lack of oppression over the years in my 
relationship with my spouse, and my friendships with BIPOC individuals. I think especially for where I live (SouthEast US), I 
have always been vaguely aware of my status as a white man, especially with the historical context of how the SouthEast US
has treated individuals who are outside of this group. 


2. What strengths does your identity give you? How will you utilize those at Turing?


- My identity comes with many inherited privileges, as I mentioned before. One thing that I hope to be able to use my 
identity to help lift up my colleagues and peers who are under-represented in this career space. I don't know exactly HOW 
I can best do this, but I know that there is a responsibility to try and leave the space better than I came into it. 


3. How do you think you could value the identities of those around you to bring out their strengths at Turing? Has there been a time where you were able to advocate or include people around you?


- I think one way to value the identities of those around me, would be to listen primarily. I think there is an incredible value
to simply listening to the experiences of others, and working with them to enact positive social change. Of course, it does no 
good to ONLY listen. The follow through part of this is really important, to identify where we can work together to affect 
that positive change for the future. 
- I cannot think of very many times I have been in a position to advocate like this. I have helped friends get hired at jobs
in the past. a few of these friends were women. I know its not much, I just really haven't been in this position to be able 
to help much where it counts. 


4. How will your strengths impact you as a teammate? What will you bring to your cohort?
- As I mentioned, I think my strengths as a cis-gendered white man are the inherent priveldges I'm afforded in society at 
large, as well as in the work place. I have a responsibility to be better than those who came before me, and work with all of 
my peers to foster a better sense of community, and well-being for all involved. I hope that I will be able to responsibly use 
my privilege in a way that builds a better community for all members of my cohort.