“You have eight hours to create an online DVD rental store. You will be judged on teamwork, solution elegance, unique Graphic User Interface (GUI), and the completeness of the application. You may use your choice of Sun Microsystems Java Technology, Microsoft ASP, Open Source Software PHP, or Microsoft.NET, as your database technology. READY..SET..GO!”
The doors were closed and locked shut. Suddenly there I was…a tiny Latina from Boston in a large, strange, hotel ballroom in Dallas, Texas. The room was packed with adolescents, separated by state into small groups and assigned to computer stations. Even after six months of Information Technology (IT) training, I knew my knowledge from school courses and my creativity were about to be pushed to the limits.
I remember looking around the table and the adrenaline rush that streamed through my body. Never had I been so proud of my peers and myself. There we were – the first team from Boston in over ten years. Yet we were not only representing Massachusetts, but also our own native countries, Chile and Pakistan. As the three finalists, we battled our way through programming boot camp and won our regional competition to gain a spot for the national contest. The long Saturday classes, the trip across the nation, the individual quiz bowl, and now the eight-hour programming contest! This was actually fun for me- what once was overwhelming was now a natural routine. Fingers typing, ideas flowing, this was what I was meant to do.