Lorena Mesa

Summary One of the great strengths of the Python community is the diversity of backgrounds that our practitioners come from. This week Lorena Mesa talks about how her focus on political science and civic engagement led her to a career in software engineering and data analysis. In addition to her professional career she founded the Chicago chapter of PyLadies, helps teach women and kids how to program, and was voted onto the board of the PSF. Brief Introduction Hello and welcome to Podcast.__init__, the podcast about Python and the people who make it great. I would like to thank everyone who has donated to the show. Your contributions help us make the show sustainable. Check out our sponsor Linode for running your awesome new Python apps. Check them out at linode.com/podcastinit and get a $20 credit to try out their fast and reliable Linux virtual servers for your next project You want to make sure your apps are error-free so give our other sponsor, Rollbar, a look. Rollbar is a service for tracking and aggregating your application errors so that you can find and fix the bugs in your application before your users notice they exist. Use the link rollbar.com/podcastinit to get 90 days and 300,000 errors for free on their bootstrap plan. Visit our site to subscribe to our show, sign up for our newsletter, read the show notes, and get in touch. By leaving a review on iTunes, or Google Play Music it becomes easier for other people to find us. Join our community! Visit discourse.pythonpodcast.com to help us grow and connect our wonderful audience. Your host as usual is Tobias Macey Today we’re interviewing Lorena Mesa about what inspires her in her work as a software engineer and data analyst. Interview with Lorena Mesa Introductions How did you get introduced to Python? How did your original interests in political science and community outreach lead to your current role as a software engineer? You dedicate a lot of your time to organizations that help teach programming to women and kids. What are some of the most meaningful experiences that you have been able to facilitate? Can you talk a bit about your work getting the PyLadies chapter in Chicago off the ground and what the reaction has been like? Now that you are a member of the board for the PSF, what are your goals in that position? What is it about software development that made you want to change your career path? What are some of the most interesting projects that you have worked on, whether for your employer or for fun? Do you think that the bootcamp you attended did a good job of preparing you for a position in industry? What is your view on the concept that software development is the modern form of literacy? Do you think that everyone should learn how to program? Keep In Touch Twitter Picks Tobias Zencastr Lorena Weapons of Math Destruction What I Talk About When I talk About Running Links idealist.org Schemas For The Real World The intro and outro music is from Requiem for a Fish The Freak Fandango Orchestra / CC BY-SA