Raven Best felt unfulfilled and unchallenged at her job. After a brief excursion in art school, she joined our UX/UI Design program and hasn’t looked back.
We asked Raven about her decision to join Thinkful, and what excites her most about the future.
What led you to Thinkful?
I was a program specialist at the University of Maryland-College Park in the sociology department. I was so incredibly over admin work, had no trajectory for my career, I was not being challenged or fulfilled. I was desperate for a change.
I’ve always loved art, so I decided to go back to college. After one semester, I knew it wasn’t challenging enough and that it would not help my in my job prospects! That’s when I started doing research into bootcamps, and that’s when I found Thinkful!
We’re glad you mentioned that the curriculum is designed to help you get a job. What else attracted you to Thinkful?
I loved the flexibility, mentorship, and the fact that Thinkful really invests in its students. I was completely convinced after a call with my student advisor — I knew Thinkful was going to be the right fit for me!
What was your favorite part of your experience?
My favorite part was building my portfolio from scratch. I had to figure out how to express and represent myself. I really dug into who I was and translated that to code and to my portfolio.
Many students say learning to code is one of the more challenging aspects of the program. How did you handle that?
Straight perseverance! I learned how to fall in love with coding — the trial and error of it all and self reliance.
You got a great job after completing the program. Would you mind sharing some details like who you work for and why you love it?
I work for 2U, a tech company building an online platform for colleges that translates master’s programs for online usage. I’m so excited about working with like-minded individuals that are working towards social change by using creativity! We have a uniform goal and I believe in that goal.