Future Leaders in Technology Scholarship Recipient Raquel Moreno shares her journey from Student to Software Engineer
Raquel Moreno knew when she was a sophomore in high school that she wanted to go into computer science. Her sophomore AP computer science teacher, Mr. Medrano, saw her potential in the field and encouraged her to take as many courses on the subject as she could. Not only did she take his course, but she also dual enrolled in an associate’s program at her local community college while still in high school. Raquel remembers that Mr. Medrano, “saw that drive and he just kept pushing me and kept challenging me and encouraging me.”
By pushing herself to broaden her knowledge of computer science by taking as many courses as possible, Raquel learned how to “be comfortable with the uncomfortable.”
When asked if she has any ‘words of wisdom’ for other students looking for scholarships to fund their education, she emphasized that applicants should “really allow your personality and your experiences to shine through in the application. There’s no two people alike in this world.” She highlighted how important it is to be true to yourself: “No one will believe in you if you don’t believe in yourself.” Raquel understands how discouraging it can be to get rejections from scholarship organizations, employers, or school programs. Her persistence and authenticity are what she attributes to her success: “Put yourself out there and show the company or the organization (whoever’s offering the scholarship) who you are and just allow that to lead you to where you need to be.”
Raquel is now beginning her IT career at Oracle. She was an intern last summer where she worked as a software engineer on their applications development team. She was able to secure a return offer after proving her worth and building rapport with her team. She told us how lucky she feels to have this opportunity, but still wanted to share that a linear career path is not the only option: “I’m blessed with my opportunity at Oracle, but you must be okay with the fact that not every company you apply to or every position you want, you’re going to get. If you continue to try and continue to be persistent and believe in yourself and be confident, then someone is going to give you that chance.”
Raquel truly embodies Connect’s Future Leaders in Technology Scholarship mission of fostering and supporting the next generation of IT leaders. Her positivity and growth mindset are contagious. When asked what advice she would give to other folks beginning their careers in IT, she told us, “Allow yourself to be encouraged by the challenge and be motivated by the fact that you don’t know everything. Then, go out and learn and explore and question what you don’t know in order to learn. The world is truly your oyster and you’re going to continue to learn and grow every day if you just remain persistent.”
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