Our Bright Paths Program is designed to advance STEM education and career opportunities for underrepresented constituencies and communities while closing the gap in technology.
Perficient created Bright Paths in partnership between Perficient and Strayer University’s Hackbright Academy, a coding bootcamp and engineering program designed for women, as well as Devmountain, a design and coding bootcamp designed to equip students with the skills to start their journey toward a career in tech. The program is currently accepting applications for individuals in Detroit and Minneapolis who are ready to learn the skills needed for entry-level work in software engineering, quality assurance (QA) testing, data analysis, or web development.
We previously looked at why three graduates applied to the program, and most recently heard four pieces of advice to incoming Bright Paths students. For the final blog of the series, we will discover what possibilities lie within Bright Paths by seeing what technical stacks five students learned and utilized to develop custom applications.
Full Stack Blackjack
Rob Lewis
Rob Lewis, Detroit Bright Paths graduate and associate technical consultant at Perficient not only turned his interest in coding into a career, he used his blackjack hobby as the inspiration for his custom app development.
“I love making games, and I found an interesting way to include all the project requirements in this game,” said Rob. His application, Full Stack Blackjack, incorporates HTML and JavaScript (NodeJS) to allow users to play Blackjack. Rob added that Full Stack Blackjack “applies all the standard casino rules, and if the player wishes to do so, they’re able to ‘bank’ their winnings to reload in the next session.”
Helping Hands
Daravy DeRouen
When quarantined with COVID-19, Daravy DeRouen, Lafayette Bright Paths graduate and Perficient associate technical consultant, found that her loved ones were eager to support her, saying “My family constantly helped with my children, food, and pets.”
This sparked an idea for Daravy to develop an app during the Bright Paths bootcamp called Helping Hands using the MERN Stack, which includes MongoDB, ExpressJS, ReactJS, and NodeJS. Using the knowledge she gained from the program, Daravy’s application “allows users to post tasks with their specific location that need to be completed. Other users can then volunteer to pick up these tasks by checking a green mark.”
Website For a Local Business
Adam Ray
Adam Ray, Lafayette Bright Paths graduate and Perficient associate technical consultant, saw his Bright Paths project as the perfect opportunity to create a website for a local business. “After looking at the existing website that was created decades ago, I saw an opportunity to better showcase the company by modernizing the website and incorporating additional features for a smoother user interface,” said Adam. “I utilized React, JavaScript, CSS, HTML, and Firebase to allow customers and employees to quickly and effectively use the website.”
Video Game Market Analysis
Steven Epstein
A video game fan, Steven Epstein, Detroit Bright Paths graduate and associate technical consultant at Perficient, sought to create a custom app that compares the video game consoles currently available and evaluates the sales by genre to see which console is statistically better. “I created a video game market analysis application using Python, specifically the Panda and matplotlib.pyplot libraries,” said Steven. For proper analysis of the data, Steven explained, “I analyzed a .csv file with data, and displayed the information and charts using Jupyter Notebook. I also refactored the code into functions with docstrings so it could be reused and compared to other consoles.”
Contacted
Karam Nasser
Karam Nassar, Detroit Bright Paths graduate and Perficient associate technical consultant, created an application titled “Contacted” that helps individuals and influencers alike. “Think of this application like a business card, but for the individual’s personal platforms,” he explained. “My application encompasses individual contact information, and links to social media platforms, bios, and even personal websites.” To develop this user-friendly, completely customizable application, Karam used HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Interested in enhancing your technical skillsets and developing your own custom app? Perficient’s Bright Paths Program could be the perfect opportunity for you. If you or someone you know aspires for a career in tech, we’re currently accepting applications for our upcoming Bright Paths Program in Detroit and Minneapolis. The application window closes May 10, and classes begin June 20.
At Perficient, we continually look for ways to champion and challenge our talented workforce with interesting projects for high-profile clients, encourage personal and professional growth through training and mentoring, and celebrate our people-oriented culture and the innovative ways they serve Perficient and the community.
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