Hi everyone! I’m Isaiah Collazo, I was a Fellow from the 6.4 Full Stack Web Cohort. And with the help of everyone here at Pursuit I’ve been able to land my first tech job as an Apprentice at Thumbtack.
Growing up, I always wanted to be in tech.
In elementary school, I would write fully-fleshed out games, characters, worlds, levels. Getting older, I realized how much games helped me anytime I was going through a hard time, how I was able to escape reality for just those few short moments and enter a whole other world. I found out how I could actually develop my ideas through coding.
By the time it came to apply for college, I had my mind set on one school—Rochester Institute of Technology. But my grades were well below their requirements, their Game Dev program was very competitive, and even my college counselor said it was a reach. So I developed a plan. I would apply early-decision for their Web Development program, a far less competitive one, to increase my chances and transfer into Game Design after getting my grades up.
By some miracle, 2 months later, I got my acceptance letter. Fast forward a semester and a half, I fell in love with web development. But I was having a hard time.
I wasn’t adjusting, my time at school wasn’t going as well as I hoped. So I ended up taking time off, unsure if I would go back.
I took that time to focus on myself. I got my first job at Chipotle, spent time with my loved ones, and grew as a person. After those few months, I still wasn’t sure if I should go back to school. But I didn’t want to give up the opportunity I was given to attend school at RIT, so I went back for another semester. Not much changed, but I knew my heart was still set on web development. Speaking to my dad, we thought looking for other options would be best. My dad’s an actor, and he told me at the time that he was in a shoot for a company that helped train software developers. The name was Pursuit. He told me to look into it.
It was a week before the early-decision timeframe was up. I got in my application ASAP. Somehow, after the many different screenings, I made it through. I was given another amazing opportunity so soon after RIT, and I wasn’t going to move on from this one.
I told myself I would commit to bettering myself through the program. And I did just that.
I did whatever it took to fulfill my dream. I would stay after class to work on my class projects, and passion projects and from there go straight to work. At work, I would write out code, or ideas in a sketchbook I have. During my break, I took out my laptop immediately to continue where I left off. After work, I would hop on the Q or the 2 train and the second I got a seat, the same thing.
My goal was to make everything I did stand out.
I wanted people to look at my work and know that I did that. But I also wanted to help people out, so on my weekends, I volunteered my lunch hour to hold study sessions. We would go over whatever topic the other fellows needed extra help in. It wasn’t one-sided though. Because as I tackled those topics with them they helped me get better at public speaking. I was NOT doing the best at first, but as the sessions went on my confidence in myself rose, and I got better.
Because of the opportunity I was given, I can look back at my younger self and be proud of how far I’ve come in such a short period of time. I started my own family. I have a beautiful daughter, Ava. I just turned 21, and I landed a job at a company whose mission really aligns with my own.
I always wanted to help others in any way possible. When I wanted to make games it was to escape reality. As I got into web dev, it shifted to building a product that can help them in whatever way they need. Thumbtack does just that, helping blue-collar workers, family businesses, entrepreneurs, everyday people connect with others and run a sustaining and secure business. But this is just the beginning, there’s still so much I want to learn and do. So many ideas I have that I want to develop.
Thanks to Pursuit and the people that have helped me along the way. All of 6.4 for inspiring me, seeing others grind made me want to grind just as hard. Jon, Jhenya, and Celine for challenging me throughout the program. Caroline for the support and making sure I was being healthy (I remember one time you gave me a mac & cheese cup cause I hadn’t eaten that day). And Corey for being the best instructor and mentor for myself, and the rest of 6.4. You challenged and helped support me every step of the way. You kept me focused whenever I showed any signs of slipping you were on top of it and I’m really appreciative of that. My parents and my girlfriend Kaho for being understanding and supportive. Knowing that the year I spent at Pursuit would be tough and tireless they were in my corner the whole time. Even being pregnant and working her own long hours my girlfriend handled that time like a champ.
I wouldn’t be where I am now without any of you, and I’m grateful for all the help you’ve all given me.
— Isaiah Collazo, now an engineer at Thumbtack
Isaiah at the launch of his 6.0 cohort with more 6.0 fellows
