Your Django Story: Meet Cynthia Monastirsky
This is a post in our Your Django Story series where we highlight awesome ladies who work with Django. Read more about it here.
Cynthia is from Buenos Aires, Argentina. She works as a Python/Django developer. Cynthia is a tech events attendee enthusiast: Django, Python, infrastructure, architecture, devops, frontend… She also participates in several local communities.
How did your story with code start?
It started in 2002, after a big crisis in Argentina. I was in my last high school year, and my mother was jobless. I decided to build her a website, which helped her a lot. That amazed me so much, that even now I still can’t believe how relevant that moment was in my life.
What did you do before becoming a programmer?
I was studying environmental engineering, but I was feeling that it was not my path. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to become.
What do you love the most about coding?
Once a friend told me that when he watched me programming it looked like if I was playing a game. And let’s face it, who doesn’t love to be able to play every day of their life?
Also, the thrill of finding the solution for something hard, sometimes in unexpected ways, makes my day every time.
Why Django?
A fellow programmer I was working with was always talking about Django with enthusiasm. At that time I was a beginner PHP programmer and didn’t know much about other languages.
He taught me the first steps, and not so long after that I changed my PHP work for a super mega awesome Django job!
Also, here in Argentina we have an amazing Python and Django community, so I made a lot of friends.
What cool projects are you working on at the moment/planning on working on in the near future?
I’m a proud member of our brand new chapter LinuxChix Argentina, where we focus on reducing the gender gap in GNU/Linux in particular and in FOSS in general.
Many members are Python and Django enthusiasts, so we are preparing to participate in events, workshops and meetups to spread the word about its magic!
I’m also helping to organize the Buenos Aires Python Meetup (we just reach 300 members!), where we get together to learn, teach, chat, code and sprint.
What are you the most proud of?
I used to have the feeling I didn’t know enough, that I wasn’t prepared to work. Thankfully, I then became aware of the existence of the impostor syndrome, so I didn’t feel alone anymore.
Today I can say I no longer feel like a newbie or an impostor, but an experienced programmer who has a lot to learn, who can keep evolving and gaining knowledge, and also help others.
What are you curious about?
Where will programming take me next time?
What do you like doing in your free time? What’s your hobby?
Bike riding, bread baking, cuddling with my cat :3.
Do you have any advice/tips for programming beginners?
Persevere, don’t let anyone, especially yourself!, tell you that you can’t, or you are not intelligent enough.
Try to have a study buddy, meet the local or international community, investigate, play with technologies, use social networks to improve your knowledge, break things, read, read, read!
Thanks Cynthia! :)