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Lex Alexander, an LA developer, is looking to bridge the gap between technology and diversity. Currently working out of General Assembly, Alexander created an initiative called "Code it Forward" to help fund a scholarship that plans to bring more women and minorities into the world of technology.
In an Indiegogo campaign video he explains that as a thank you for funding his tuition he will give 10 percent of his income during his first two years as a programmer to an underrepresented applicant to go to a code school of their choice. That person would then give 10 percent of their income and so on to help creating a ripple effect for generations to come and bring more diversity into the tech workforce.
A 23-year-old resident of Pasadena, Alexander is swiftly on his way to help change the race and gender boundaries in technology: "It is intense and challenging, but programming makes me rise to the occasion - I love it."
Alexander has always been fascinated with learning how to code, and prior to be accepted to General Assembly he assisted in founding a Craiglist-type service for college campuses. Not long after he realized that his lack of programming know-how was holding him back, and in order to fully engage in entrepreneurshiphe would need to learn all of the necessary tools. Within the next year Alexander did just that, soaking in every tutorial and resource that he could from YouTube, Codecademy, StackExchange and more. "Executing is all that matters," Alexander said. Utilizing what he learned, Alexander took fourth place in a Hack LA contest this past December with his app MapMySnaps, a mapping program that shows which local stores accept food stamps in LA neighborhoods.
Once his skills were in a place that he felt comfortable he then applied and was accepted into the immersive program at General Assembly in LA. "It is a positive environment, staff, and structure," Alexander said. Once he was accepted however he was only able to cover his first payment of the program, and was having difficulty paying the remaining $11,500. This is when the idea for a crowdfunded scholarship "Code it Forward" came to fruition.
Alexander's campaign not only helps fund his GA program but initiate a cycle of giving back: "Eventually I would love to have this scholarship help send women and minorities to coding bootcamps of their choice and eventually computer science programs at colleges." Alexander said he is excited to continue participating in General Assembly’s program as he looks forward to continuing to make “cool and innovative things that will change the world."
