isleofyou · September 24, 2021 20:04
diff --git a/Gear Up Pre-Work b/Gear Up Pre-Work
 What were your reflections from the video?

 It was interesting to hear that you must think past your biases to be able to provide fully to any task. The fact that these biases are unconscious proves that you have to try even harder to recognize and overcome them. It also seemed that some of the progammers in the video have disabilities and have been able to overcome them, and some of that may have been due to technologies that were created with people like them in mind. I assume somebody had to make a program that blind people can code with, which I think is absolutely amazing.

 In what ways have you examined your implicit biases before coming to Turing?

 I have never examined my implicit biases before reading that article. It was very interesting to learn about this, and am hesitant to really dive into them for myself. I always thought I was unbiased when it came to things like race or wealth, but anything and everything I can do to self reflect and improve is welcome. What I don't like the most though is the implication that everyone is a racist to some degree. 
 What kind of software do you imagine building in the future? How will understanding biases (or avoiding understanding biases) impact your products?

 I imagine myself building software that is user friendly for everybody. Understanding biases will be crucial to my products because to have succesful products they must be userfriendly to all. This includes the elderly, young kids, color blindness, etc. My products need to be able to help anyone in the world, regardless of their backgrounds and difficulties.

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

 The parts of my identity I am most aware of are being asian and being a male. Being male comes up very often when I am referred to as "Sir" or similar names. I also have many Asian-American friends so specifically me being Vietnamese comes up quite often, must mostly in terms on food or tradition.

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

 My identity does not give me strengths. Being Asian does not make me smarter and being a male does not make me stronger. The strengths that I have were developed by me and with the help of my family and friends. I have cultivated my abilities starting from the bottom and am very proud of what I have become. 

 #How do you think you could value the identies 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 could value the identities of others by making sure I am using the proper pronouns and preferred names. I can also ask people what their strengths are when working on projects and making sure that people are working on something they actually want to. I advocated for people at my previous job when I was training the new employees and was helping decide which reps were good enough to move forward in their training. 

 #How will your strengths impact you as a teammate? What will you bring to your cohort?

 My strengths are good communication, positive thinking, and being a good team player. I am also funny and like to make people laugh. I hope to bring pure positivity to my cohort. I want to be able to support others on their journey through Turing and hope to develop bonds with people who wish to do the same for me. 
 When I develop code I will use cogniscent empathy to attempt to feel emotions from users / fellow programmers. I will ensure my code is easy to work with and have everyone in mind.
	What were your reflections from the video?

	It was interesting to hear that you must think past your biases to be able to provide fully to any task. The fact that these biases are unconscious proves that you have to try even harder to recognize and overcome them. It also seemed that some of the progammers in the video have disabilities and have been able to overcome them, and some of that may have been due to technologies that were created with people like them in mind. I assume somebody had to make a program that blind people can code with, which I think is absolutely amazing.

	In what ways have you examined your implicit biases before coming to Turing?

	I have never examined my implicit biases before reading that article. It was very interesting to learn about this, and am hesitant to really dive into them for myself. I always thought I was unbiased when it came to things like race or wealth, but anything and everything I can do to self reflect and improve is welcome. What I don't like the most though is the implication that everyone is a racist to some degree.
	What kind of software do you imagine building in the future? How will understanding biases (or avoiding understanding biases) impact your products?

	I imagine myself building software that is user friendly for everybody. Understanding biases will be crucial to my products because to have succesful products they must be userfriendly to all. This includes the elderly, young kids, color blindness, etc. My products need to be able to help anyone in the world, regardless of their backgrounds and difficulties.

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

	The parts of my identity I am most aware of are being asian and being a male. Being male comes up very often when I am referred to as "Sir" or similar names. I also have many Asian-American friends so specifically me being Vietnamese comes up quite often, must mostly in terms on food or tradition.

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

	My identity does not give me strengths. Being Asian does not make me smarter and being a male does not make me stronger. The strengths that I have were developed by me and with the help of my family and friends. I have cultivated my abilities starting from the bottom and am very proud of what I have become.

	#How do you think you could value the identies 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 could value the identities of others by making sure I am using the proper pronouns and preferred names. I can also ask people what their strengths are when working on projects and making sure that people are working on something they actually want to. I advocated for people at my previous job when I was training the new employees and was helping decide which reps were good enough to move forward in their training.

	#How will your strengths impact you as a teammate? What will you bring to your cohort?

	My strengths are good communication, positive thinking, and being a good team player. I am also funny and like to make people laugh. I hope to bring pure positivity to my cohort. I want to be able to support others on their journey through Turing and hope to develop bonds with people who wish to do the same for me.
	When I develop code I will use cogniscent empathy to attempt to feel emotions from users / fellow programmers. I will ensure my code is easy to work with and have everyone in mind.