Your Django Story: Meet Corryn Smith

This is a post in our Your Django Story series where we highlight awesome ladies who work with Django. Read more about it here.

Corryn is a recent graduate from University of North Georgia with a degree in Applied Environmental and Spatial Analysis. She enjoys studying Geographical Information Systems, Remote Sensing, and Python Programming. When she’s away from the computer, she likes exploring the great outdoors and binge watching Netflix while learning how to knit. Corryn plans on going to graduate school to get her master’s in Geography; while attending grad school, she wants to continue her passion for coding by completing free courses on codecademy, and going through some Django tutorials during her free time. She hopes that one day she can travel the world to tell people about how awesome the GeoSpatial Technology field can be.

 

How did your story with code start?

I was first fascinated by code when MySpace was popular; I enjoyed playing the the HTML code to make all of the different MySpace layouts. When I started college, I decided to continue learning about code by majoring in Computer Science. However, when I took Computer Science I, I just didn’t like the class and felt that I wasn’t learning anything. I changed my major to Environmental Spatial Analysis with a concentration in Information Technology. I took the class “GIS and Python” with a different professor, which sparked my interest for code again.

 

What did you do before becoming a programmer? I was an undecided full-time student who worked part-time as a cashier at a grocery store.   What do you love the most about coding?

I enjoy the satisfaction when I write a script and it finally works.

 

Why Django?

While in college, my professor taught his Application Development class how to use and operate Django. I really didn’t have a choice since that was what he wanted to do for the class, but I’m glad he taught us Django. I used Django for two classes, and created three projects with the framework. Since my degree focuses on GIS, we use GeoDjango for most of our projects.

 

What cool projects are you working on at the moment/planning on working on in the near future?

I am currently working on an interactive campus map website using GeoDjango with two other friends. The goal for that project is for new students to be able to use the website on their phone to help them around campus; I built in a geolocation tool so they can see where they are on campus.

 

What are you the most proud of?

I am proud of how much I learned in the past year. Coding may look intimidating, but it’s just like learning a second language. You can teach yourself with all of the tools available on the internet, and if you ever have a question, there are people out there who can help.

 

What are you curious about?

I am curious what I will do next. I think I will make a personal site using Django so others can view my story and what I’ll do next. I am also curious to know more about hosting a Django Girls event in Atlanta, Georgia. If I can find enough people, maybe we can host one in the Atlanta area in the near future :)

 

What do you like doing in your free time? What’s your hobby?

When I’m not at a computer, I really enjoy spending time outside. I enjoy hiking, camping, and geocaching.

 

Do you have any advice/tips for programming beginners?

Practice, practice, practice! If you get stuck, Google is your friend! The Django documentation is pretty helpful as well. When you want to learn how to make your Django projects pretty, you can learn how to write HTML and CSS for free from www.codeacademy.com.

Thanks Corryn! :)

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