Your Django Story: Meet Katerina Kampardi

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

 

Katerina Kampardi is a Web Applications Developer from Greece who works as a freelancer. Like many aspiring developers, Katerina is self-taught and got her start with online tutorials. She later attended a Python Specialization. Today, she works on various Django projects as an independent developer. Find her on Github.

How did your story with code start?

It started during my Bachelors Degree in University of Athens when I attempted the Music Technology Specialization. I learned some basic algorithms and how to implement them in C. After that I made the serious decision to change my career plans. I started learning Python over two years ago, primarily from online tutorials.

 

What did you do before becoming a programmer?

I was studying/teaching piano and music theory, working mostly with children.

 

What do you love the most about coding?

The way that algorithms give all problems a possible solution - however big and complicated the problem seems to be, it can always be divided into smaller pieces to deal with. My favorite thing is to design such solutions with algorithms and then in implement them in whatever programming language. Of course, Python is my favorite one!

 

Why Django?

Well, as a freelance web developer, the last four years I have worked with various frameworks and content management systems. I find Django to be the most feature-complete and best-documented framework I’ve worked with. In addition, Django has an exceptional community: everyone is helpful and happy to share what they’ve learned.

 

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

At the moment I am working with Django Web Framework, in a couple of e-shops and also a custom blog.

I am also planning to start my own web application with Django Rest Framework :)

Alongside this work, I am also trying to help as a contributor to Zulip - a powerful, open source group chat application written in Python. You can view my projects on Github.

 

What are you most proud of?

When one of my projects goes on deployment and use, Oh, I feel very proud about it. Also, new coders make me feel proud when I help them - that’s the reason I am planning to organize a Django Girls Event in Greece.

 

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

I like play the piano, Latin dancing, and go on bike tours. Since I have a two year old son, I try to spend as much quality time as I can with him. :)

 

Do you have any advice/tips for programming beginners?

At present, I don’t consider myself enough of a senior coder to give others advice. But if you must know, I would say: “Code, Code, Code!” …Oh, and Code some more. But, importantly: don’t go it alone. Get started with tutorials, find a mentor, start a bootcamp or online class, and read books. That is exactly what I am doing. And please remember: it is never too late!!!

How did attending a Django Girls workshop influence your life/career?

I haven’t attended or organized a Django Girls workshop experience yet, but I am planning to do so this autumn in Greece. More details to come!

 

Thank you so much, Katerina!

 

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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