After taking online computer science classes for the past year and a half, I was exposed to the very basics of several different languages - Python, Java, SQL, HTML/CSS, JavaScript, and PHP. Unfortunately, without much hands-on experience, I didn't feel like I had any practical knowledge of programming to start building a personal portfolio.

I joined various websites to build more practical experience through projects - FreeCodeCamp, UpskillCourses, and SoloLearn. As an avid listener of the CodeNewbie podcast, I heard an avertisement for a Grow with Google scholarship through Udacity and got to work on my application.

Throughout the first phase of this scholarship, I've developed my HTML/CSS skills and practiced with JavaScript and jQuery. But by far the best part of this experience has been the community - both online forums and slack, and in-person with our local Houston group, which met weekly (and sometimes more frequently!) to work through the lessons and collaborate on this project.