Family Situation His parents are supportive and directed him toward a great high school, but they know very little about technology.
Stumbling Blocks Outside of Hack the Hood, he has had very little exposure to the types of careers and work done in the Tech industry.
As a sophomore in high school, he thought he was too far behind already. “I though it was too late for me to get into Tech.” He is intimidated by the students who have been writing code since they were 13. He wants to learn more about programming, but he isn’t able to motivate himself to learn on his own. He needs a structured program to keep him focused.
Attitudes Toward School Malik travels one and a half hours each way, to and from school by public transit, to attend a strong charter high school. He enjoys school and has a librarian who he talks to about the future, and finding a job he enjoys. But his school hasn’t been able to show him his path to a career, he was directionless before attending Hack the Hood.
The school doesn’t offer any computer programming classes or opportunities, that he knows of. He has asked Hack the Hood to offer classes year round so he can learn more coding.
How Hack the Hood Helped This program helped him plan a path toward a career in Tech. “I have a goal, a plan and a path forward. I know what I am going to do now.” He was able to see that he can build the skills needed for coding and now understands the jobs available to him in the Tech industry.
What the Videos Can Do to Help Videos that show him the skills and culture of the tech industry will help to make up for his lack of exposure at school and at home. Videos that describe the tech industry will also help Malik share with his family what he is working toward. Videos that demonstrate the soft skills of working in Tech will help him prepare for job interviews and conversations with role models.