Help Alia cross the finish line!!

 In 1975, my father made the bold move to the states in hopes of a better life for his family. As a self-employed painter, he instilled in me the work ethic and desire to achieve more for myself. His foundation of hard work, perseverence and the belief that the only person that can make you quit your dreams is yourself will always be a driving force behind how I forge ahead in life. America really is the land of opportunity, the land that leaves you with no excuses. We have it all. I find no reason why we shouldnt celebrate all of these opportunities and resources, what with the wave of startup hubs, incubators, angel investors, everywhere!! This is all right in our backyard. Our Startup/Tech ecosystem in Arkansas is thriving.  

It is with this growth mindset that I am happy to say that I have been afforded a chance to be able to pursue my dreams of being a front-end developer, and have been given a great opportunity to do so with The Iron Yard (http://theironyard.com/). Through their help, and the support of the WinRock International, I was awarded a full tuition scholarship to this incredible school. It will be a challenge, I am 32, I've only recently started to practice my coding. It's exhilariting and it's challenging, and I love it that an organization chose me to be a part of their bootcamp. I mean guys, I will finally be able to learn and grow with technology. An industry, a way of life, one that I shyed away from, always  thinking I wasnt well equipt. I used to be a bit intimidated by the internet of things.

I challenge anyone reading this, just try One hour of code, any taste of coding and you will realize that you can tell your computer what to do, what to say, what to ask, how to act, how to respond, and how to look, you finally feel that spark, that jolt, that you have been waiting for. I know in my heart of hearts, if I am able to work out a way to cover my living expenses, etc., etc. I can climb this mountain. I will admit, crowdfunding is very new for me. My community is slowly starting to rally around me,  it really shows me the strength of the human spirit and the need to give,  to pay it forward. It's quite an incredible thing to experience. Please know, your genorosity will be a direct contribution to my mission: TO LEARN and GROW and THRIVE at the Ironyard. So I can speak out for those w/ no voice, to educate, and to empower young women everywhere, especially making this ecosystem a more inclusive environment for young women in our community and beyond to pursue their tech dreams.

Pursuing this dream will require me to dive in head first, and leave my current job for 12 weeks.

Here's where you come in. I am asking you to help me make it through these twelve weeks. All of my living expenses for the next 12 weeks will need to be covered in order for me to be able to accomplish my dream of inspiring women to not only invest in the tech workforce, but help them succeed in gender equality in the workplace. This means raising $8,000 to cover my rent, utilities, phone bill, food, as well as purchasing hardware and software needed for this journey. 

After The Iron Yard I desire to move the needle in the tech and startup world by helping women see their dreams of own their own businesses realized. We have a great opportunity to see a large change in the business ecosystem by empowering women to chase their dreams. 

I'm doing this for the little girls that would rather build robots than play with dolls, for the single moms that need to raise their kids without working 3 jobs to put food on the table, and for the women that are constantly encouraged into "traditional job environments." I beleive that we can make a difference of leveling the playing field in the tech and startup world, and you can be a part of my journey to do just that.

Would you please consider supporting my heart and dream? No gift is too small, and every gift means the world to me.

Blessings,

Alia Borroho