๐๐๐ญ๐จ๐๐๐ซ ๐๐ง๐ฐ๐ซ๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐
๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐ก ๐จ๐ ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐ค ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ ๐ง๐๐ซ๐ฌ
Today marks the final day of October, and I canโt help but wonder why this month seemed to sprint off at the start, only to slow down to a snailโs pace in the third week.
Regardless, here we are, bidding farewell to October and eagerly awaiting the embrace of November.
October has been nothing short of a remarkable month for me.
The highlight of this month? It was undoubtedly the opportunity to give back to the community.
To provide a little context, I embarked on my journey in UI/UX design through KodeCamp three-month free training in 2022.
In August of the same year, I continued my learning journey with Tech4Dev year-long Women Techster Fellowship, Class of 2023.
These training programs were provided free of charge, and I hold that gift close to my heart with immense gratitude.
During my time with Tech4Dev, we were taught the importance of giving back to society.
Together with other Techsters, we ventured into local schools, introducing students to the fascinating world of technology, with a special focus on empowering the girl-child.
This initiative was not limited to one location; it spanned states and even countries, with Women Techster Fellows actively participating.
Warra time.
I was called upon to volunteer for the โOperation T3" program, a remarkable initiative targeting teenagers, some of whom are still navigating secondary education.
Operation T3 (Target, Think, Talent) gave me the opportunity to give back to my community.
It was my pleasure to extend my knowledge to the young minds of Ikorodu, delving into the intricacies of UI/UX design.
My classes were on Tuesdays from 2:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The program was to run for a month which meant I had limited time to train the kids.
Other tracks such as Content creation, web development, and scratch were fixed for other days.
5 Tuesdays in the month of October to teach about UIUX design. I looked at what was essential for the kids to learn and infused that into my teaching.
I created a course outline and dedicated the first two weeks to teaching the kids about UX design. We donโt want the new designers to jump into Figma without properly understanding the necessary steps it takes to design a product.
I realized that teaching these kids with the aid of things they are familiar with makes assimilation so much easier.
We used everyday examples to understand the concept of UIUX design.
By week 3, we were able to start with our design. Remember, week 3 is the same as day 3. We only had Tuesdays for lecture day.
The kids were excited to jump on Figma. A moment theyโve been waiting for.
Figma proved to be more tricky than they imagined. We had to learn the features of Figma and again I discovered that the best way to learn is by doing.
I allowed them to pick a project that interested them and they chose โa delivery app.โ
We started with what we wanted our delivery app to have. We were pressed for time and moved to the onboarding immediately.
Again, I taught as I designed. This was way faster and they learned a few plugins like Story Set and Iconify and how to use autolayout to create a button.
By week 4, which is day 4, we were done with the onboarding screens.
Weeks 3 & 4 were pretty challenging for me as I had to go to their computers individually and put them through.
There was a lot of back and forth because people didnโt assimilate at the same pace.
Teaching these bright young minds has been an absolute pleasure. And today, I wrapped up my class with a heart full of hope for the future.
The kids love their design and they are on their way to being indoctrinated into the Young Innovators Fellowship where they get to learn more about the skills theyโve picked up during Operation T3.
This was a program Iโm glad to be a part of.
Today being the end of the program, I was invited to speak to Secondary school girls on โNavigating the Tech Space as a Young Girlโ to mark the International Day of the Girl Child.
I hope to get the pictures from that event soon
Iโm so glad I got to give back and I canโt wait to do more of this.
Iโm documenting this for the future. Iโd love to look back and see how far Iโve grown in the tech space and more importantly, to see the impact Iโve made in the lives of these ones.
This is why I transitioned to tech! This is why I still have the drive to go on.
