DreamTeamDesigns, a team of programmers consisting of Ben Harris, Geoff George, Edward Cheever, and Robert Hardin, took home the championship title at the Next Level Competition (NLC) in July. Their winning project was Fridge2Table, an application that lets users track groceries, with products sorted by category, expiration date, and location (fridge, freezer, or pantry) in the kitchen. The NLC is…
For 18 years, Justin Gerow worked his way up the supply-chain management ladder, amassing an impressive knowledge base of logistics and transport operations. Then one day, thinking about the time he took coding courses in college for fun—he decided he wanted to do more of what made him happy. “I knew that at some point I wanted…
Marques Gaston was working as a legal assistant at a law firm in Illinois when he realized that he wanted to make a change in his career. Having been interested in coding since his senior year in college, he had been working diligently to teach himself the basics before recognizing that he had to take the…
If you’ve ever written a resume or filed a cover letter, you already know that applying for jobs is not easy. It doesn’t matter whether you’re vying for a summer gig scooping ice cream or applying for a full-time job in rocket science — the process can be stressful, challenging, and time-consuming. Software developers feel…
For a long time, Abraham Jones knew very little about tech. In his eyes, working on Excel spreadsheets was essentially the same thing as coding. That may sound strange, considering his current success in the industry. But upon examination of Abraham’s background, his late arrival to the tech game becomes less surprising. Raised in Chicago…
As a high school student in Chicago, Melvin Hernandez was accepted into the engineering program at a prestigious local university. However, because he was an undocumented immigrant, he didn’t qualify for in-state tuition. Melvin is one of the DREAMers (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors). These young people came to the United States as children and…
After a long career in insurance, Kenneth Huynh was ready for a change. He was always interested in programming growing up, but despite his curiosity, he found himself pursuing a different career path. “I dabbled in it in high school but never really got too deep into it,” he said. When he began thinking about switching careers,…
As a fashion designer, teacher, and entrepreneur, Arnab Majumdar has always been inspired by the intersection of fashion, technology, and art. But when he started his own small fashion company, he quickly discovered just how easy it could be to lose the thread of each field. “In fashion, you’re always taught to be on top of trends…
Luke Hayes had always been interested in computers, but working for his family’s business set his career on a different path. His family owns Hayes Beer Distributing Company and a handful of its warehouses throughout Illinois. At 16, he officially joined the team as a forklift operator, then became a sales merchandiser and eventually a delivery…
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