After high school I studied computer science at the University of Illinois, Chicago. I got up to my junior year, but struggled for personal reasons. One was I had undiagnosed ADHD. As a result, I suffered through crippling depression that brought down my academic performance. I had to repeat classes because I just couldn't focus or know how to cope. I ended up dropping out and working at a warehouse. I felt like I was settling in life and I wasn’t happy.
People would say, ‘if you're not doing your work, you're lazy.' So I thought maybe I'm just lazy. I started researching and reading articles about ADHD. I've learned to redirect my mindset and reorient daily habits to use the benefits of having great focus on things that really interest me. Now I can focus to follow through with tests and assignments. I have this condition, but I'm not going to let it control me. I'm going to find a way to work around it so that I can achieve what I want to achieve.
At the end of the Lambda school curriculum, I was offered a job with a salary of $100,000 – and that is shocking to people when I tell them – I was a college dropout.
I was suffering with depression and ADHD. I was working at a warehouse. But I had a goal to move forward and pursue a career in tech. I found an alternate path, which was Lambda school.
