Episode 55 – How Leslie Chose The Right Code School

Meet Leslie Pajuelo! She comes from a background that combines computer science with geology. But Leslie wasn’t happy with her job. She wanted something more, something exciting, and something creative. She wanted to create software and realized that the fastest way to get there was through a code school or a coding boot camp. Nothing less than the best code school would do. This is her story.

Now that Leslie has graduated boot camp and is out in the tech industry, she is here to stay. In fact, she’s even preparing to give back to the community in an amazing way! Listen in to episode 55 and hear her story.

Leslie’s Bio:

Leslie Pajuelo began her career as a map geek for an Ag water district in rural California. That soon led to an opportunity to attend a Girl Develop It meetup, which changed Leslie’s course. Girl Develop It opened Leslie’s eyes to the world of software developing and she saw it as a step up. Instead of developing mapping software, Leslie now works on backend services for Walmart Labs. At night she is preparing to launch a new chapter of Women Who Code, which will be located in San Diego. Women Who Code is an organization that promotes the growth of women leadership in tech to inspire and provide a similar fulcrum point for other women in their careers.

Episode Highlights and Show Notes:

Arsalan: Hi everyone. Today my guest is Leslie Pajuelo. Leslie, how are you?

Leslie: I’m doing great.

Arsalan: Leslie, you have an interesting story. Tell us a little about how you came to the US and then you felt a certain way and then what happened?

Leslie: I moved to the US from Venezuela. Venezuela is one of the US. There’s a lot of great propaganda and there’s a lot of love between the countries. I moved here. When I was nine and it was a kind of a letdown. This is a land of opportunity and it feels like a lot of energy, but culturally, it doesn’t feel that way when you’re here until about 20 years later when I moved into software development. Then you have the energy and the opportunities and the community that really comes together to help each other out and it kind of felt like a fulfillment of the propaganda in this field.

Arsalan: So, when you started your life in the US, you were hoping that you would have a nice neighborhood with people coming over and a nice social setting like you will find in many other countries, especially in Venezuela. So, you are a little disappointed, but then you discovered software development and how people help each other. It’s amazing and it doesn’t happen in every industry. Yet you found yourself in the right place and at the right time. So, I congratulate you.

Leslie: Thank you.

Arsalan: Now you are working as a software engineer for a big company and were going to talk about all that. First I want to learn about Leslie. How do you describe yourself? Who is Leslie Pajuelo?

Leslie: in the last year. There’s been some transformation and when we talk about the opportunities that I’ve had, especially when I moved here, it is something that I am working to help create opportunities for others. I am energized right now and that is who I am.

Arsalan: If you live in sunny San Diego. You have a lot of opportunities to get out of the house. So how is San Diego?

Leslie: It’s great. I live three blocks away from the beach. There are a lot of outdoor opportunities. The quality of life is definitely high.

Arsalan: The rest of us are absolutely jealous right now.

Leslie: I was at the beach a couple of weeks ago.

Arsalan: That’s great. My experience in San Diego was not all that great, but I spent a day or two in the downtown area. I need to hang out at the beaches.

Arsalan: Now you are not someone who wanted to become a software developer. You are somebody who was probably trying to figure out what to do as you are getting older and going to high school,