GABRIELLA OPENS THE DOORS FOR A TECH CAREER AFTER HIGH SCHOOL

Gabriella Hawkes, a 17-year-old high school senior, has been preparing for a career in technology since she was 13 years old. What started out as a hobby soon became her passion, and now there’s no going back. “I want to learn everything about coding,” she said. She has already completed many online courses and two Udacity Nanodegree programs.
She took her first Nanodegree programme — Android Basics — at the age of 13, which she completed during the two-month summer break from school. “I enrolled for my second Nanodegree programme in AndroidDevelopment during the COVID-19 quarantine period. I had no school to go to and could easily devote time to upskilling myself, “she said.
Since then, she has been able to work on two projects. One was a local company in Huntsville, AL, where I helped them with their website and streamlined their job application process for prospective employees. The other was a company in New York where I helped them develop a better database to help the CEO understand their supply chain management and current financials, “she added.
Moreover, she recently won the NCWIT award and her state’s science fair, where she created a class schedule optimizer for school staff.