Andela Bootcamp, zero to hero
Its the journey not the destination that makes a traveler — anonymous
hello learners, its been 3 days 15 hours 40mins of intense brainstorming among some of Nigerians most elite software developer wannabes and its my privilege today to share my experience with one of Africa's most challenging recruitment processes. The Andela Bootcamp cycle 42.
Andela here I come
I arrived in the city of Lagos few days before the boot-camp in order to settle in and familiarise my self with the terrain. On my first day at the boot-camp I was greeted by unfamiliar faces, the environment felt so serious and everyone acted like they knew their stuff so I had to act likewise. It was when I reached the elevator that I spewed my ignorance and confessed my inability to navigate its controls. Few minutes after my brief show of ineptitude I was within the venue for the boot-camp. On the first day we were briefed on Andela’s values and beliefs and given some tasks to complete before the end of the day.
As I looked around the arena, and breathed in the fresh air of raw talent. It dawned on me that this was not your regular Nigerian recruitment process. There were no kick-backs, tribalism or favouritism amongst the facilitators. Everyone simply encompassed pure brilliance and mental grit. Connections could do you no good here, I alone had the power to promote or oppose myself.
What I have learnt
We were plummeted by series of task and projects, and though my fate is yet to be determined, the journey has been no less exciting. In the first week we were instructed to improve on our Andela developer challenge. The system of development was quite more collaborative than independent. People could consult each other on blockers and impediments they experienced along their development process and this added to the growth of most individuals.
The bootcamp experience has pushed me to learn more than I would have ever done on my own. The rush and high expectations of the facilitators put me in a learning sprint that I don’t see myself recovering from anytime soon. I was intoxicated by the boundary pushing belief that hung in the hearts of most boot campers. Everyone wanted to be the best, not in relation to others but of themselves. The weak became strong the slow became brisk and the good became better. I came across people of varying background ready to give their best to a cause bigger than themselves. The inception of Africa’s technological revolution.
Takeaway
Andela’s bootcamp bears a perfect impression of the notion that brilliance is evenly distributed but opportunity is not. In my days here I have seen young people like myself burn themselves out to produce projects that would leave any spectator stunned, but rather than glory in the euphoria of their achievements they ask for a better way to implement their already working models. This mindset I’ve obtained during the boot-camp has me planning on ‘how I can exceed expectations’ right from the get go of a project. Good is okay but better is breath taking and this is my new found mission statement in pursuit for the best. This is what Andela has been like for me. Happy coding.
