Blossoming Technologist

What does a career in design look like? How do you build products that people love? Meet Chelsi Alise Cocking, a product designer at Dropbox in New York City. Born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, Chelsi moved to the U.S. to study computational media, an interdisciplinary degree focused on computer science, digital media, and design, at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Georgia. Through internships at Goldman Sachs and Apple and her classes on human-computer interaction (HCI), Chelsi learned about careers in design and how to build products for the people who use them.

In this episode, we dive into what UI/UX (User Interface/User Experience) is, what a product designer does, career paths, skills for UX, resources for aspiring designers, and more!

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What does a career in security look like? Why is security crucial for everyone to understand? Meet Sara Diaz, the Information Security Lead for ThoughtWorks North America. After starting her career as a quality analyst, she moved into information security and has been at ThoughtWorks for 5 years. Sara is passionate about making security accessible and easy-to-understand; you shouldn't need to be an expert to protect your digital life.

In our conversation, we talk all things security: what it means, different career paths, what a day-to-day looks like, resources, skills, and more.

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How do you find a mentor to help with specific skills? How do you make the most of that relationship?

Learn from Alex Berry, a Portland-based Technical Program Manager within Intel’s Global Supply Chain and the Founder of Chocolate Milk Diplomacy, a social business that empowers underserved and marginalized communities with career development support. Alex's story is built from the many mentors and mentees he's had since studying industrial engineering at Georgia Tech to his job today. We talk about how he makes the most of these relationships and continues to value the stories of the people around him. We also discuss what technical program management is and how his company, CMD, helps people figure out their paths.

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How can your job impact your mental health? What can you do to make your mental health a priority? Today's episode features Mahmoud Khedr, the Co-Founder and CEO of FloraMind, an organization that develops tools to guide young people toward positive mental health.

Mahmoud is a proud Egyptian immigrant passionate about empowering underserved communities through mental health education. His career began in tech, with companies like Facebook and Google, which led to his focus on entrepreneurship and mental health. We discuss his experience working in tech and starting companies, with lessons on entrepreneurship and how to prioritize your well-being. We also dive into the inspiration behind FloraMind, stories from teaching mental health workshops to kids, and why toxic positivity is a problem. Get ready to be inspired!

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What is electrical engineering? What does fabricating solar cells involve? Meet Mason Mahaffey, an enthusiastic PhD student in electrical engineering at Arizona State University and a graduate from Georgia Tech. While he always knew he wanted to work with solar panels, the path to that goal was something he had to figure out along the way through classes, meeting people, and discovering a way forward. We talk about the fields within electrical engineering, what solar energy is, and how solar cells work. We also discuss how important it is to continue pursuing your passion, even when people doubt you.

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How do you start a side project? Learn from Benji Bear—the creator of Covidopoly, an online, multiplayer Monopoly-deal inspired game with over 600,000 plays worldwide. In our interview, we discuss how he started Covidopoly and balances it with his full-time job as a software engineer at YouTube. Benji’s start into computer science was anything but traditional; we talk about his journey from pre-med to computer science, getting into front-end development, his tips for learning new skills, and advice for starting your own side project. Oh, and you won’t want to miss Benji’s "secret to doing well in college."

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How do you deal with imposter syndrome? How can you help others recognize their own microaggressions? Why is diversity crucial when building products? Katie Ho is a senior consultant software developer at ThoughtWorks and a graduate of Mount Holyoke College, where she founded HackHolyoke, the first 1:1 gender ratio hackathon, in 2014. Passionate about diversity and inclusivity, Katie describes how she's dealt with imposter syndrome and microaggressions from her time building robots in middle school to her job today.

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Finding a job is like a pipeline; it's a series of steps to reach your dream job. How do you master the software engineering job process? How do you write a stellar resume and prepare for technical interviews? Today, Clayton Lawrence takes us through his journey becoming a software engineer, providing actionable advice for resumes, interviews, and landing internships.

Clayton Lawrence is a mobile developer at NCR and a Georgia Tech graduate. He recently started his own company, Pipeline Career Services, to help people find and land their dream jobs through storytelling, resume reviews, mock interviews, career office hours for software engineering, and his weekly podcast, Connecting with Careers.

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How do you map your skills and interests to a job you love? What careers exist with a computer science degree outside of software engineering? We tackle these questions and more in today’s interview with Madeline Helmstadter, an incoming product manager at Facebook and recent Georgia Tech graduate. After completing 4 software engineering internships, Madeline pursued a job that better fit her interests: product management. We discuss how she mapped her passions in theater and organization to product management and how she found a job during the COVID-19 pandemic. Let’s jump in!

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Blossoming Technologist is a podcast for young professionals growing in the tech industry. How do you perfect your resume? What career paths exist in tech? How do you battle imposter syndrome? We'll answer these questions and more with episodes every Monday, interviewing young professionals in tech about college and their early career.

This episode is an introduction to the podcast and the host, Marisa, as well as her journey in the tech industry. Marisa Hoenig is a software developer consultant at ThoughtWorks and a recent Georgia Tech graduate. She is passionate about helping college students and fellow young professionals navigate their first careers in tech. This podcast is a resource that she wished she had in college—a place to hear stories of everyday young professionals figuring out their paths in the tech industry. And with that, let's get started blossoming together!

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Cover Art by Kendal Goodell @goodelldesigns