Tuition Fund for a Native Woman’s Coding Education
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Hi folks, our niece Althea is attending a full-time coding program later this month. We’ve been helping her select and apply for a reputable course suited to her goals, and are now looking for support from our extended community to raise $20K for her tuition. Althea has shared her story, and her goals for this coding program and beyond, in her own words below.
Althea joined our family almost a decade ago, when she moved from Navajo Nation to live with Boaz's older brother and his family, outside of Boston. She is an incredible person that we are lucky to know: intelligent, curious, kind, and always taking care of others. We want to provide her with the same support and care she shows others as she navigates this next chapter.
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Hi reader, I’m Althea John, a 29 year old Native American woman from Navajo Nation. I’m starting a 15-week immersive coding course at the Flatiron School in Denver, starting on February 21st. I’ve been gradually learning to code since community college. I’ve finally saved up enough money to cover my living costs for a few months, so I can fully focus on a coding program.
I would be immensely grateful for your help in setting me up for my next step. Funding this program through contributions will enable me to get started without the financial burden of loan repayments. I’m sharing a little bit more below about my story, what I want to do with coding skills, and my specific funding needs. I will keep everyone who contributes updated on my progress, especially as I graduate and look for a job, and start to work on my longer term goals. Thanks for reading and considering making a contribution.
What I want to do with coding skills:
Once I learn to code and get some industry experience, I have two aspirations: first, having taken care of kids my whole adult life, I want to design products for nannies and educators that are built around children’s needs. Second, I want to support my community back home on the reservation. My vision is to enable folks to scale small businesses through connecting them digitally to customers outside of Navajo Nation.
A bit about my experience with product development and coding so far:
I learned the basics of HTML, CSS and JavaScript at community college. I had to quit school in early 2018 to work. I was hired as a nanny by a start-up called Cozykin and was quickly offered a central office role as a Care Manager. Over two years, I learned a lot about product development and software: I conducted user experience research with our nannies for a product that tracked children’s daily activities and enabled communication between nannies and parents. I also ran our Backup Care program—I managed between 15-30 nannies at any given time, and created a scheduling system using Airtable, Slack and Zapier.
Why I’m trying to cover the full tuition this way:
I’ve saved enough money for living expenses during the program. The tuition is $17K in total, and I was just awarded a $3K scholarship. While Flatiron offers a loan program for the remaining $14K, I’m hoping to raise money through community contributions, instead of being saddled with loan repayments as I try to find a job after the program. I’m raising $20K to have a small cushion. I have already paid the $500 deposit to start the pre-work required before classes start on February 21st.
All donations will be withdrawn from GoFundMe directly by Althea for tuition and other program-related costs.
Althea joined our family almost a decade ago, when she moved from Navajo Nation to live with Boaz's older brother and his family, outside of Boston. She is an incredible person that we are lucky to know: intelligent, curious, kind, and always taking care of others. We want to provide her with the same support and care she shows others as she navigates this next chapter.
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Hi reader, I’m Althea John, a 29 year old Native American woman from Navajo Nation. I’m starting a 15-week immersive coding course at the Flatiron School in Denver, starting on February 21st. I’ve been gradually learning to code since community college. I’ve finally saved up enough money to cover my living costs for a few months, so I can fully focus on a coding program.
I would be immensely grateful for your help in setting me up for my next step. Funding this program through contributions will enable me to get started without the financial burden of loan repayments. I’m sharing a little bit more below about my story, what I want to do with coding skills, and my specific funding needs. I will keep everyone who contributes updated on my progress, especially as I graduate and look for a job, and start to work on my longer term goals. Thanks for reading and considering making a contribution.
What I want to do with coding skills:
Once I learn to code and get some industry experience, I have two aspirations: first, having taken care of kids my whole adult life, I want to design products for nannies and educators that are built around children’s needs. Second, I want to support my community back home on the reservation. My vision is to enable folks to scale small businesses through connecting them digitally to customers outside of Navajo Nation.
A bit about my experience with product development and coding so far:
I learned the basics of HTML, CSS and JavaScript at community college. I had to quit school in early 2018 to work. I was hired as a nanny by a start-up called Cozykin and was quickly offered a central office role as a Care Manager. Over two years, I learned a lot about product development and software: I conducted user experience research with our nannies for a product that tracked children’s daily activities and enabled communication between nannies and parents. I also ran our Backup Care program—I managed between 15-30 nannies at any given time, and created a scheduling system using Airtable, Slack and Zapier.
Why I’m trying to cover the full tuition this way:
I’ve saved enough money for living expenses during the program. The tuition is $17K in total, and I was just awarded a $3K scholarship. While Flatiron offers a loan program for the remaining $14K, I’m hoping to raise money through community contributions, instead of being saddled with loan repayments as I try to find a job after the program. I’m raising $20K to have a small cushion. I have already paid the $500 deposit to start the pre-work required before classes start on February 21st.
All donations will be withdrawn from GoFundMe directly by Althea for tuition and other program-related costs.
Co-organizers (2)
Boaz Sender
Organizer
Pasadena, CA
Althea John
Beneficiary
Siena Chiang
Co-organizer