Aaron Watson is a podcaster from Pittsburgh so I’m probably biased.

Watson’s interview with Kelauni Cook is upbeat, inspiring, smart and incredibly engaging. Her enthusiasm for tech made me want to learn how to code!

Kelauni skipped from one impressive experience to the next after graduating from college. She realized in hindsight how valuable it was.

Cook was a member of the inaugural cohort for Pittsburgh’s first coding academy. She landed a job as a junior developer at the Washington Post upon completing the program and started Black Tech Nation, dedicated to diversity in tech through training. She’s also an instructor at the bootcamp.

What I loved most about this interview is Kelauni’s unique, non-linear path to coding and her enthusiasm for the future. Specifically how blockchain technology will change everything.

As a sidenote, I was interested in Kelauni’s journey to and through Academy Pittsburgh, the region’s first coding bootcamp. Although it has a rigorous application process, it’s an intensive, tuition-free training model. Graduates pay a percentage of their income for a limited time when they secure a job.

This learn-first, pay-when-your-training-helps-you-land-a-job model is being employed by more start-ups and academies and will disrupt the traditional 4 year, overpriced, college model.

Look for more opportunities like this in areas other than tech.