Pair Programming 4Ever <3
For Valentine's Day, we're spotlighting sweet stories from some of the cute couples who have changed careers through our Web Development Bootcamp! Here's to lifelong learners and lovers:
Stacie (Cohort 8) & Jesse (Cohort 13)
When and how did you first meet?
Stacie: We met a while back when we both worked in retail in 2012. Jesse worked in back, and I worked in the front of house, so we didn’t have much interaction! I became close with Jesse’s sister who also worked for the same company, so we weren’t strangers.
Eventually we both left that job and went to Juno College (then known as HackerYou) at separate times, almost like ships passing in the night. Randomly one day in 2018, Jesse decided to ask me on a date after all those years of the timing not being right — the rest is history!
Why did you both decide to take Juno's Web Development Bootcamp?
Stacie: I had graduated from university without much direction. I wanted to do something design-related, but also in the tech space. It was more difficult back then because digital design wasn’t as prominent. I went to Juno College's Web Development Bootcamp to learn how to code and pair it with my design education.
Jesse: After working many years in retail, I wanted more of a long-term career. I always enjoyed tech-like things, so it seemed like a good fit!
What are you both doing today?
Stacie: I'm the Creative Lead of the Globe Content Studio at the Globe and Mail.
Jesse: I'm a Digital Publishing Specialist at Holt Renfrew.
We love that over the years, tech has become a super welcoming and inclusive space!
What do you love about coding/tech?
We love that over the years, it has become a super welcoming and inclusive space! It moves fast, but everyone is always willing to help you learn and grow.
Anya (Cohort 7) and Owen (Cohort 9)
When and how did you first meet?
We met at a friend’s house party in 2006!
Why did you both decide to take Juno's Web Development Bootcamp?
Owen: We both felt stuck in our careers — we had no direction and just felt bored. After consulting a career coach, Anya wanted to pivot into front-end development and it seemed too good to be true. After Anya enrolled in the Bootcamp I started to eye what she was doing, thinking “hey, that looks pretty cool.” Before we knew it, we were both web developers!
Any fun Bootcamp memories you’d like to share?
Going to each other’s graduations for sure! We were just so proud of everything each other had done, and getting to see all that hard work pay off was a really nice moment.
Owen: Before our first day, my cohort had a murder mystery party. It was so much fun to meet everyone before the Bootcamp started, and we were already close before we started.
What are you both doing today?
Our new careers have given us so much, but the biggest change for me is that we’ve finally been able to travel together. We never had the freedom to travel in our 20s, but since going to Juno we’ve visited Portugal, Germany, Switzerland, and New York with more on the way!
I had never had a career like that before where I felt that sense of pride, and I realize now that it was something I was missing.
What do you love about coding/tech?
Owen: I love the sense of satisfaction when you solve something. Whenever I fix a bug I feel like the coolest person in the world, and need to go tell anyone I can find. I had never had a career like that before where I felt that sense of pride, and I realize now that it was something I was missing.
Keelin (Juno Career Success Specialist) & Matt (Cohort 46)
When and how did you first meet?
Keelin: We met in 2014 on Omegle (!!!), but we never thought anything would/could happen because I was in Canada and Matt was in the UK. In 2017, we started dating and met in real life for the first time while I was living in Copenhagen, Denmark for a university exchange. We dated long-distance for 5 long years, got married in October 2021, and Matt moved to Canada in June 2022!
Why did you decide to take Juno's Web Development Bootcamp / work at Juno?
Matt: Coding was always something that I was interested in learning, and it quickly became my favourite way to stay busy and occupy my time while my Permanent Residence status was still pending approval and I couldn't work (it is approved now, please hire me 👀). By the time I received my Permanent Residence card in the mail in October 2022, I had already made the decision to make a career change into web development, and within days of becoming a Permanent Canadian Resident, I submitted my application to enrol at Juno!
Keelin: I applied to Juno in early 2022 but didn't receive a call for an interview until 3 months after. I had just started a new role a few weeks earlier, but the possibility of working at Juno was too good to pass up! So I did the interviews and quit the other job without hesitation. 🤭
Any fun Bootcamp memories you'd like to share?
Keelin: When Matt started Bootcamp, we made such a huge deal about how and when we were going to disclose to his cohort mates that I am his wife. We talked for days about the best way to approach it. The first time I taught a Career Services lesson for his cohort, I had a whole spiel prepared about how Matt was my husband and how there would be no favouritism or special treatment... and the students in the cohort truly could not care less LOL. My Leo sun really thought I was such a big deal!
Every Career Services Wednesday, I roast Matt. The other day, I told his whole cohort about how he got out of bed at 1:00am the night before and turned on his computer because he finally figured out how to solve a bug in his code and had to fix it immediately.
When I started coding, it was instantly satisfying. I love the challenge of solving problems, figuring things out, and constantly learning new things.
What do you love about coding/ working at Juno?
Matt: When I started coding, it was instantly satisfying. I love the challenge of solving problems, figuring things out, and constantly learning new things. Mistakes don’t matter — they are actually expected, and can be easily deleted and fixed. It is so gratifying to spend my days learning languages, tools, and frameworks. I also love inputting data and instantly seeing real-time results!
Keelin: Supporting grads transition into tech and make 180° career changes is so inspiring! I am obsessed with all of my job seekers, and form true friendships with them and my colleagues! 4-day work weeks also help 👀
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