Your Django Story: Meet Sarah Holderness

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

 

Sarah Holderness is the Python instructor at Code School. Although she originally planned to be a high school math teacher, Holderness found her love of programming during a required programming class in college and has been hooked on creating things ever since.

How did your story with code start?

It’s kind of a windy road, but I started out majoring in Math in college to be a high school math teacher. As a Math major, they force you to take computer programming and choose a specialty (statistics, pure math, and computer science were some of them). I was not instantly “hooked” on coding… Actually, I almost failed the ‘Intro to Java’ course I was taking, but my friends helped me pass.

Then, my mom, who was a computer programmer turned business-woman, convinced me it was a good skill to have, so I decided to specialize in Computer Science for my Math major. In my second course I ended up loving creating things like a simple calculator or a tic tac toe game. That’s when I was hooked. I decided to Major in Math and Minor in Computer Science. After coaching high school tennis during college, I also decided I didn’t have the disciplinary skills to be a teacher and would instead look for Engineering jobs. That lead to my first job as a Software Engineer after college.

 

What did you do before becoming a programmer?

I’ve always liked learning and taking on new projects, like making my own clothes or playing the piano growing up. I think being a programmer kind of matches up with that part of me that likes to take on challenging projects.

 

What do you love the most about coding?

Solving interesting problems, which is a very general answer! I think the ideal situation is when you’re working with a talented team of people to dissect and solve a problem but also having the creative freedom to discover the best ways of solving that problem.

I also love that if a new device comes out, if you know how to code, you can create an app for it. There’s a lot of freedom in creating new things and a lot of resources available to learn. There are endless possibilities for coders at the moment.

 

Why Django?

I actually just started playing with Django and I love it! I started at Code School in June 2015 working on their path of Python courses, so I taught Try Python and Flying Through Python. And now what most of our users have asked for is Django, so I’ve taken it on to learn Django inside and out so I can add some Django courses to our path.

  

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

I’m working on the Django courses for Code School, which are super fun because I get to create an app to teach within the courses. I created a simplified Instagram-like app that we’ll teach in the course while covering Django concepts.

I’m also working on finishing my PhD right now on multi-touch training systems, but I don’t use Django or Python to do that - that’s been in the Unity 3D engine. But we do conduct user studies and I analyze all of the data from those in Python.

 

What are you most proud of?

I’m super proud that I’ve gotten to a place where I love my job. As cheesy as that sounds, I love the courses that we make at Code School and our product. I’m super proud to be part of the team.

  

What are you curious about?

Since I’ve just started with web development, I’m pretty curious about front-end design since that’s something I haven’t gone too deep with yet. I think that would be fun to learn more about it and enhance my Django creations.

  

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

Right now, working on my PhD is my hobby! When I’m not working, I love being outside, running with my dog, playing sports, going to the beach and enjoying Florida.

  

Do you have any advice/tips for programming beginners?

Don’t be afraid to fail or get stuck and don’t feel stupid asking for help! If you’re stuck, it probably means someone else has been there, so Google it and do some research. And if that doesn’t work, ask someone. Being a programmer means persisting, working through problems, and using all the help you can get.

  

How did attending a Django Girls workshop influence your life/career? What did you get out of attending a Django Girls workshop?

I haven’t attended one yet, but I look forward to either helping with one or hosting our own!

  

Thank you so much, Sarah!

  

If you would like to suggest someone to be featured in the Your Django Story series (or would like to nominate yourself!), please email us at story@djangogirls.org!

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