Each month, we highlight a volunteer who has made big contributions to the CTD community. For our first Volunteer of the Month in 2023, we are excited to celebrate Kevin Nelson, who has been regularly involved with Code the Dream classes since 2021. Thanks, Kevin, for your commitment to Code the Dream!
Kevin shared about his volunteer experience with Code the Dream:
Tell us a little about yourself.
I have spent the past 10 years in Legal IT, specializing in SaaS development. I have been in my current role with a law firm for 3 years as of this month. I am a lead developer managing development on a cloud enterprise service delivery platform. I have been coding for about 20 years now. I began with developing games on my TI-83+ calculator back in high school. I primarily focused on game development as I learned, but grew into web development after college.
Why did you get involved with Code the Dream?
I got involved with Code the Dream because this organization makes it easy for those from low-income backgrounds to be able to learn the skills necessary to break into the industry. I appreciate being able to be a part of a student’s growth from their first variable declarations to seeing a completed full-stack project after a year or two.
What has been meaningful about your experience with Code the Dream?
Seeing several students that I first mentored complete their final projects and graduate from the coursework was a wonderful experience. I appreciate knowing that I played a role in helping them overcome their challenges as they began this frustrating work. I continue to see lightbulbs go off in my mentor sessions regularly where things begin to click and what was once frustrating transforms into something understood and able to be wielded.
My time with Code the Dream has been one of significant growth. The students have taught me just as I have taught them. It is always fun to see someone’s unique perspective, and how that informs my own way of doing things. This community has been nothing short of wonderful!