Meet Daniel and Payal!

Come for the web design, stay for the robots! These Code Camp graduates tell us why they come back for more!

We asked two of the students who joined our Saturday classes at UCT to tell us about their experience learning with us, and what they’ll take away after the course!

Daniel Livesey had an interest in how tech works: the mechanics behind keyboards, computers and whatever could make his time spent gaming even better. While he wishes that he’d found the world of I.T. sooner, he’s happy that he’s now immersed in coding, robotics and more. 

Payal was pleased to find that coding is pretty straightforward – but stepping outside of her comfort zone to actively pursue this passion took some courage. She’s glad we’re all in it together.

Q&A

CodeSpace: You found out about the Saturday class through being a part of our holiday Robo Camp. How did you find out about the camp? 

Daniel: Um, I was basically just looking around everywhere for places I could do extra code classes. My parents found out about this camp that was happening at UCT for a week, and I thought it would be interesting. 

Payal: Our school was advertising it in our weekly newsletters and I was pretty interested, since I’ve always liked coding.

CodeSpace: Out of all the things you’ve done here so far, what surprised you – if anything? 

Payal: That coding’s pretty easy! It’s very self-explanatory and straightforward, so I find that really nice.

Daniel: What surprised me was how working with robotics for the very time was actually very cool. Before I found out about this, I was coming to the camp to work on website designing. But it was cool working with robots. 

So have you done some coding before? 

Payal: Yes, in my primary school we used to do Scratch. The Scratch was pretty different from this, it wasn’t anything too complex.

Daniel: Yes, I used to do classes every second Saturday at Greenpoint Coworking, and work on website design. I did Java, CSS, C++… 

Ok, cool – you’re far ahead. Could you tell me a bit about the other people here? Your classmates, and the facilitators? 

Daniel: The facilitators are quite helpful, and very positive. It’s really a very good experience, having people with different backgrounds [sharing] what they know.

Payal: I like the facilitators – they’ve been very helpful. They’ve always been able to lend a hand in everything we do. They’re very willing to reach out and help you, and the students here are very nice – it’s just a really nice environment where you can always feel very comfortable. You get there and you see everybody in a different grade. And you’re like, ‘[sharp intake of breath] No, no.’ But you get used to it, and you realise that we’re all starting from the beginning and we all learn from each other. 

Ok, that’s good to hear!

CodeSpace: If you could describe your experience here in three words or less, what would they be? 

Payal: ‘Exciting’, and ‘easygoing’. 

Daniel: I would say ‘exciting’, ‘surprising’, and ‘extravagant’. 

‘Extravagant’ – ok, that’s interesting! What is something that you’re hoping to still learn, with robotics in particular? 

Daniel: To be honest, I don’t know exactly – but if I could go somewhere with robotics I would! I grew up with technology around myself. I was interested: how does a computer work? How does a keyboard work? How does a mouse work? I got introduced to I.T. in grade 10, and I’m now in grade 12, so I got introduced quite late. So I’m trying to get myself into the habit of being ‘an I.T. person’.

Do you wish that you’d gotten into it when you were younger? What would have been a good age for you?

Daniel: Yes! Since I found out about it. 

Probably about 11, 12. I know that seems quite young.

What kind of people would you recommend should do the course? 

Daniel: Whoever has an interest in I.T., robotics – all those things. Anything in the I.T. industry. I never knew anything about robotics until I went there, so it’s actually a really good experience for everyone. 

Anything else you want to say, for people who are going to be reading the article? 

Daniel: I would just like to say, if you have a dream, rather just pursue it – don’t give up. 

When you’re finished with these classes, do you think you’ll want to carry on learning more about technology, or coding and robotics? 

Payal: Yes! Ya, it’s worth the three hours on a Saturday afternoon to come and learn. I’d come back again to do another course if there was, or if you guys offer another bootcamp I’ll probably come for that.