My middle school's required programming class sparked my interest in computer science. I cannot commend my school highly enough for adding this course to their curriculum, for I would not have taken it otherwise. I discovered that I enjoyed logical thinking, and I excelled in the course. 

In high school I requested to skip the Intro CS class. My request was denied, and I felt frustrated by the repetition of the material, the manner in which the class was taught, and the lack of women in the class. That was the only programming class I took in high school. Insecurity and intimidation of the male dominated field dampened my interest in programming until college.

I began college with an interest in the humanities and an intended major in anthropology. My sophomore year I enrolled in a CS class to fulfill a requirement. I remembered what I had loved about programming and chose to switch my academic focus. The initial passion I had felt for computer science was rekindled. 

At around the same time that I was discovering computer science, many of my friends were majoring in linguistics, so I enrolled in a course out of curiosity. I fell head over heels in love with linguistics. It was logical and structured like computer science. I liked the fact that it was more quantitative than anthropology but still overlapped with the humanities in the form of linguistic anthropology and psycholinguistics. I had finally discovered my academic loves, and this was reaffirmed by the overlapping themes in my classes. The thread uniting them was logic. Finally, my life was falling into place. I graduated with an A.B. in linguistics, a minor in computer science, and a desire to better humanity through code.

After college, I took a year to get settled in on the west coast. I picked up html/css and put my new skills to use building websites. Now that I'm fully adjusted to west coast culture, I'm plunging into my career as a full stack developer. I learned theoretical computer science in college, but developers need an entirely different skill set, which I'll be learning in an intense 12 week coding bootcamp called Hack Reactor, often considered one of the top schools of its kind in the country. After graduation, I'll be able to embark on my dream career. Logic and puzzles come naturally to me, and I've already had a taste of what it was like to be a web dev, as I completed a 3 month internship last summer, which solidified my career choice. Software development allows me to combine my creativity and imagination with my love of logic. I aim to build assistive technology for the disabled or mentally ill. I believe technology isn't just for chat applications and twitter clones but can be used to improve lives.

I already received a loan covering my full tuition. Your money will be only used for my expenses during the 3 month period I'll be attending Hack Reactor. This includes my rent ($650/month), food ($350/400 a month. With 12 hour days, 6 days a week I will have very little time to cook), transportation into the city ($250/month), and miscellaneous expenses, including all non-food related purchases and emergency medical bills ($200/month).

Hack Reactor claims a 99% employment rate with an average salary of $105k. I plan to find a job as soon as possible and begin to pay off my loan. I am financially responsible, have a good credit score (715), have only missed one credit card payment, and continue to pay off my student loans monthly despite the fact that I'm unemployed.  I should have no difficulty paying off my loan.

There are way too few women in tech, so please let's change the ratio and start building technology helps humanity.

I graduated High School in 1990 and began working in construction shortly after that. Eventually I became a General Contractor building small residential homes. When the housing market crashed in 2009, we lost everything. When we lost our house, we lost our entire savings as well. For the next year I tried to start several small businesses, but with the economy in the dumps, they were not successful. Then, in June of 2010, I was diagnosed with Male Breast Cancer. It was at this point that my wife and Mother-in-Law convinced me that I should return to school to pursue a new career. During my surgeries for cancer, I met some great nurses and in particular, a nurse anesthetist (CRNA) that really impressed me. I was able to shadow that CRNA a few months later and it was then that I decided that I wanted to become a CRNA as well. I had virtually no college credit so I began at Community College in the summer of 2010, shortly after my final cancer surgery. Two years later I transferred to ASU and graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2014 with a Bachelor's degree in Nursing.

CRNA schools require at least 1 year of ICU experience before they will let you apply. I have been working as an ICU nurse for the past year and a half. I was recently accepted into the Nurse Anesthesia program at the University of South Carolina. Classes begin in January of 2016. I have been approved for some federal loans for school, but the amount of money they will lend is based upon tuition and cost of living for 1 person. It just isn't enough for a family. 

The Federal loans I have received will cover the cost of tuition and books, but it leaves a void for other expenses. This money will be used to cover expenses such as gas, food, and housing during my first year at school. My wife is becoming certified to teach K-6 and hopes to begin working at the beginning of the next school year. With my loans and her teachers salary, we feel like we can make it. We just need a boost to get started. We thought about a GoFundMe page, but don't like the idea of asking people to give us money. This site allows us to borrow money via crowd sourcing and repay the money in full once we finish school. 

The CRNA program is 2 1/2 years. I will graduate in May of 2018. I have heard it takes several months to get all of the licensing and certifications necessary to begin working, but the average starting salary for CRNA's is close to $150,000 a year. Paying back this loan will be my top priority after graduation. I will not be able to make payments on this loan until after graduation, but it will be the first loan I pay back.

What this loan will be used for

I was recently accepted into Hack Reactor's January 11th cohort. Hack Reactor is an intense 13-week software development "bootcamp" that trains people to become expert computer programers. It reports a 98% placement rate with an average starting salary of $105k per year. Hack Reactor is considered by many to be the best software development bootcamp in the world. With a 3% acceptance rate, it is more selective than Harvard, Princeton, or Yale.

This loan will primarily pay for my tuition to Hack Reactor ($17,780). It will also help finance my living expenses while I am attending Hack Reactor, and for the few months of job hunting after the program is over.

My background

I received a B.S. in Environmental Science and Technology from the University of Maryland in May of 2014. While attending college, I co-founded a non-profit called the Food Recovery Network (FRN). FRN collects excess food from dining halls and sporting event, food that would normally be thrown away, and delivers it to people in need. I was a part of FRN's initial national expansion. FRN now has more than 150 Chapters and has recovered more than 944,000 pounds of food. After college I did a year of service with the AmeriCorps Watershed Stewards Program (WSP) as a Team Leader. The mission of the Watershed Stewards Program is to conserve, restore, and enhance anadromous (salmon and trout-bearing) watersheds for future generations by linking education with high quality scientific practices.

I am passionate about the nexus between humans, computers, and the environment. With an exponentially increasing human population, intensifying climate, and an ever expanding globally connected world, these are the most important areas in which to work today. Instead of going back to graduate school, I want to become a software developer and maximize my impact in these three fields. Attending a software development bootcamp is the fastest and most effective way of doing this.

My credit history and ability to pay

My current credit score is higher than 750 and I have never made any late payments. I am confident that I will be successful in this program, and be able to obtain a software development position within three months of completing the program (July 2016). With these two factors in mind, I will have no problem paying off this loan within two years. I would be so grateful if you chose to invest in me and my future.

I'm Jason and I received an Associate in Science at Utah Valley University in 2014.

I grew up on a farm where I learned hard work though I knew I didn't want to be a farmer all of my life.  I have always had in interest in computers and that led me to the Computer Science field.  For the past year and a half I have been a JavaScript Localization Specialist, translating code from English to Portuguese and Spanish. I was recently accepted into the Hack Reactor coding bootcamp and plan on taking a break from work so I can better master programming. I am passionate about solving problems and that has fueled my drive to become a programmer. Through the Hack Reactor bootcamp I will be able to fulfill my dream of become a programmer.  I wish to obtain a job after the program that will put me in great financial shape. Most importantly, I also wish to do my part in helping others reach their programming potential, just like those who have helped me along my programming path.

This loan will be used towards my Hack Reactor education and some living expenses.  I have never been in debt because I always made sure to pay off every credit card bill and rent check each month. Unfortuntely, this will be the first time I will require a loan because the cost is too great but the return will be even greater!

I will pay my loan off as quickly as I possibly can.  I plan to maintain my modest living habits until I have fully paid off my loan. As I said before, I have never been in debt because I control my spending on things that matter and I have never been late on payment... ever.  My current credit score is 773 and will only go up because of my good spending habits as I build more credit history.  Though I won't have a job for the next 4 months while I'm in the program, I'm confident that I will have one just after graduating from Hack Reactor.