Bootcamp Spring 2020 Concludes With Our First Virtual Demo Day

Nick Such

Jun 11, 2020

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Bootcamp Demo Day Fall 2019

By Nick Such

As we have come to the conclusion of the latest Web Developer Bootcamp program (our 8th), we are excited for you to see how far this group of students came in a short amount of time. However, it is also important to acknowledge that the world over the past few months was much different from what students typically encounter. It is always a difficult challenge to quit your job, dive into an intensive training program, learn a new technical skill, and begin a new career. Throw in a global pandemic and the transition to learning from home, and this was a taller mountain to climb. Which makes me especially proud to see how far this group of students has come, and more certain that they are prepared to overcome the obstacles that we all face in our career paths in tech. I can’t wait for you to meet these newly-minted developers.

Normally, Demo Day looks like the photo at the beginning of this article: a crowded room, full of people having close conversations, shaking hands, and sharing a mouse and keyboard to test out the latest web apps developed by our grads. These simple interactions are key pieces of how Awesome Inc has helped to build our local tech community, person by person. Yet, as innocent as these actions seemed in the past, they’ve taken on a different meaning in 2020.

So, Demo Day this year looked a little different, but perhaps a bit more like life has looked for the past few months: everyone on a Zoom video call, complete with fun virtual backgrounds, and the occasional pet, child, roommate, or spouse unintentionally in the camera frame.

Bootcampers on a Zoom call

Demo Day began with the premiere of our students’ presentations, which they practiced and pre-recorded to ensure the best quality and no network-related interruptions. This was followed by live interaction between attendees and students, who each had their own Zoom Breakout Room. Our goal was to provide an opportunity similar to our favorite part of demo day: the students’ individual demo tables, where Q&A takes place and small group conversations can delve into the interesting details about each of our students’ journey and the process of developing their capstone projects.

This is a part you had to experience live, so it’s not on the Demo Day video recording. Our live attendees also snagged a coupon for a free lunch from the best little sandwich shop in town, Liberty Road Cafe, if you need one more reason to join the next demo day in the fall.

The Demo List

Ten students, now developers, presented at Demo Day. They’ve come from a wide variety of educational backgrounds, previous careers, and reasons to pursue programming. Here’s the crew: