Like many Break Through Tech students, Ava’s path to a potential career in Computer Science has been anything but straightforward.
Published
10/22/2024
Like many Break Through Tech students, Ava’s path to a potential career in Computer Science has been anything but straightforward. She started off as a Biology major at UCLA, thinking she wanted to attend medical school, and then decided later in her college career that she wanted to pursue computer studies.
“I was trying to find a way to get into the field but without experience and a non-technical background, it was really difficult,” says Ava. “So, I was initially drawn to Break Through Tech because of their goal to help people from all different backgrounds get into tech and not just those who started off on the traditional path. Most importantly though, when I attended Break Through Tech’s presentation about the program, the welcoming environment made it instantly feel like a program I wanted to be a part of.”
Working with Break Through Tech has shown Ava that she belongs in tech. “I constantly doubted myself when pursuing an alternative career in tech, convinced that I wasn’t smart enough,” says Ava. “However, talking to other students and working with my team on my AI Studio Project has shown me that I am just as qualified as everyone else.”
“Being able to experience what an AI project can do directly has shown me the real-world impact that AI can have and deepened my passion for the field.”
That project involved an internship with DirecTV where Ava and her team conducted an analysis of Yelp reviews to identify key factors influencing restaurant ratings and provide recommendations to improve customer satisfaction for lower-rated establishments using natural language processing. “Being able to directly experience what an AI project can do has shown me the real-world impact that AI can have and deepened my passion for the field,” says Ava.
One of the lasting lessons Ava has learned from Break Through Tech is that you never know what can happen until you try. “With my background in biology, I never imagined a career in computer science would be possible, but Break Through Tech showed me it is,” says Ava.
When asked about advice she would pass on to other prospective Break Through Tech students, Ava falls back on something her brother told her when she was struggling with self-doubt during the Break Through Tech application process: “Do not reject yourself. Let the person whose job it is to review your application decide that, not you.”
Outside of school, Ava is into crocheting. She runs a crochet club on campus at UCLA where they make handmade beanies to donate to kids with cancer. “I find crocheting to be a great way to relieve stress,” says Ava.
All of us at Break Through Tech are excited to follow Ava’s career!
You can connect with her on LinkedIn here.