This post was contributed by Michelle Pomeroy – she’s one of the 30 students currently enrolled in our Web Development course! Learn more about her below!
It never fails to amaze me how one event in life leads to another and before you know it, you’re coding websites. That’s the short version of my journey to HackerYou. The longer version is that a Mozilla Hack Jam (designed for teachers) led to discussions about Ladies Learning Code, which lead to participating in workshops through Ladies Learning Code, at which point I discovered HackerYou's Introduction to Web Development course. I never thought life would lead me here, as it completely different from anything that I have done previously. However, I cannot help but think I’m exactly where I’m meant to be.
After working full-time as a teacher for a few years, I admit, it was a debate as to whether I should take a course in the evenings, particularly when I knew that I would be learning a plethora of new information that is not technically “in my field”. I wondered if I could handle the extra hours required of me while working full-time, as well as keep up with all the new concepts. My previous programs in university consisted of courses related to the social sciences and child development, with the expectation that you keep up on academic journals, write papers and study for multiple-choice exams. I feel like these programs were something I did because I “fell into” them and they were a natural progression – not because I was necessarily passionate about them. HackerYou opened up new doors for me – doors that were not necessarily closed before, but previously non-existent in my life.
There are times now that I’m up until 2 am working on an HTML/CSS project (I find myself unable to sleep until I’ve worked out the kinks, although I’ve heard it can be better to “sleep on it”) and yes, sometimes I have the urge to throw my computer against the wall in frustration; however, after being in school for twenty plus years, I can honestly say that I’ve finally found something I’m truly passionate about. I finally found something that I can see myself doing for years to come, whether it’s in the form of a full-time job or as a hobby. Thank you, HackerYou, for giving me a second chance at my career and providing me with the skills needed to pursue my passion. Can it be done if you work full-time? Of course. Can it be done if you’ve had no previous experience? Absolutely.
[From Heather: Our next 3-month Web Development course begins on March 19th, 2013. Click here to learn more about the two parts: Intro to Web Development and Intro to Responsive Design. Ready to apply? Click here.]
ABOUT MICHELLE POMEROY 
Michelle Pomeroy is currently a full-time Special Education teacher at a unique independent school in Mississauga, Ontario. In her spare time, she enjoys reading for hours on end, watching horror/science-fiction movies, listening to music, attending concerts, practicing Taekwondo and partaking in workshops on a variety of topics, including science-fiction writing, film direction and improvisation. She hopes to continue to take web development classes to one day become a web developer using the super-awesome skills she has obtained through Hacker You.