This, I like
My journey
Hello everyone! My name is Danilo (he/him) and this is my story!
I was born in Italy and lived most of my life in a beautiful village by the lake. I’ve always been a daydreamer and growing up I’ve become an idealist and activist.
I got my bachelor degree in Development Studies with the hope to find my way in some Non-governmental organisations or Charities.
Because of my total lack of knowledge of the English language I planned to move to London and stay for (what it was meant to be) a short period of time in order to learn the language. There I worked as a barista until I lost my job due to the recent pandemic.
During these years I’ve learnt how valuable is to live in a multicultural society and I made some very good friends from every corner of the globe. And I’ve found the Love of my life!
Coding
My first contact with coding happened in the middle of the eighties when I was a child and with my brother used to write some programmes in BASIC and run them on Commodore 64. During the high school I had the opportunity to learn Turbo Pascal but by the time of the Uni I was lost in Politics and Social Activism so I put my passion for coding aside until a few months ago.
Talking with my partner, who is a developer, I told about the passion I once had for coding and that now I regret that I didn’t follow that path. They invited me to watch some video tutorials and try freeCodeCamp.
I followed their advice and... BOOM!! I was caught and I just can't get enough! I believe that coding is a very powerful tool and if used in the right way can make a huge difference in people's everyday life. I also find coding as a pure form of expression, with almost no boundaries or limits.
Here we are now! I'm dreaming to be a developer! Please don't wake me up!!
Why Founders And Coders?
I've come across Founders and Coders thanks to my partner, who took part on FAC Cohort 20. They told me how functional is the peer-led learning system.
The values of cooperation, inclusion and social impact at the core of Founders and Coders are one the main reasons behind my decision to apply to the next cohort. I've struggled most of my life to find a way to include my personal values and my academic studies into a potential career.
As a white man I'm conscious to have privileges that are denied to other groups of people and I appreciate that FAC wants to help, and wants us to help, to change this. I find the guide on how to be a good ally a remarkable tool!
Being part of the Discord community, attending the coaching sessions and the meetups, working on the daily challenges have boost my interest and willing to be a member of the next cohort. I've learned and improved so much and I would love to continue this growth.
As well as the opportunity to be a mentor for the future cohorts and have the chance to give back and help others in their learning is something that makes me think that this is the right place for me.