 Hi, welcome to theCUBE. I'm your host, Lisa Martin, and we are on the ground at Google with Cloud Now, which is a nonprofit organization for women in cloud computing and converging technologies, really focused on mentoring women at various stages in their careers. We're very excited to be joined tonight by one of the VIPs, Dora Korapar, who has a very interesting background. Dora, welcome to theCUBE, first and foremost. Thank you. Talk to us a little bit about what you're doing. You're at the Holburton School, which is a very interesting education program. What is that all about and what sparked your interest in that type of education? Sure, so Holburton School is a two-year college alternative that is kind of project-based. And so the idea is to, instead of being bogged down with textbooks and lectures and stuff like that, we do everything based on projects. So we're hands-on completely. We're doing projects that are relevant in the industry right now, software engineering industry. And yeah, kind of what sparked my interest, I guess, is I had a friend in college who, he was a German and philosophy double major, right? Which is like, what are you gonna do with that? Yeah, and I ran into him a couple of years after graduation and I asked him what he was doing and he was like, oh, I just got a job at Apple. And I was like, wait, what? He's like, yeah, I taught myself how to do all this stuff online. And I was like, people can do that? Yeah, right? So I kind of started looking into it. I started doing some stuff on my own online. And then I found this school that was taking its applicants for its first class, actually. And I was like, this is awesome. I could, because learning on my own, for me, is just, I kind of miss having the environment of people who are doing the same stuff. And I was like, this school is perfect because I get to basically do what I'm doing now, which is working on projects, making websites, whatever. But I can do that within this environment. So that's kind of why I applied. And then I got it, yeah. And you're in the very first class. So when did you start? Yes, we started in January. Okay, so just a little bit less than a year ago. Dor and I were talking offline and laughing at, we both have degrees in biology and neither of us are doctors. So talk to us about, from an end goal perspective, when you graduate, what is it that you're going to achieve and where are you hoping to go from there? Okay, so I actually kind of went into this school without really having any concrete goals. I was just like, programming is something that I actually enjoy. Let me see where this leads. And now I've actually got a job, so I kind of have my feet in the door in the industry. And honestly, I would, I think, like to start my own company at some point. Like, yeah, I'd like to work in the industry for some years, get some experience under my belt because I am so new and have like no prior experience. But I think an end goal would be to start my own company. Fantastic, so you talked about your friend who was the double major in German and philosophy as being kind of an influencer and you're going, well, you can do that. As we're at cloud now, this event, that's a nonprofit for women that's really focused on kind of creating this value-driven meritocracy. Looking at being as successful as you want to be, looking forward, I want to start my own company. Who are some of the people that are influences in your life now that are going to lead you to go, I can do this? Yeah, so I would say one of the school's founders, his name is Julian, he has been, he's like set up all of these things for me. You know, he like got me into this cloud now thing and like he's been super helpful and like super influential in like getting, not just me, just all of the students, like motivated and making sure that we're doing something that we actually enjoy, which I think is like a huge part of, especially like in this industry too, you know, like if you don't like it, you're not going to do well kind of thing, you know? One of the things too that I'd love to get your opinion on is looking at, you know, those younger girls who'll be looking up to you, your kind of non-linear path to where you are, we talk, I have a very similar background. I think that's an important message for girls to understand that you have to know what you want to do when you're even 18. So what are some of the things that you would advise young Dora, you know, maybe 10 years ago and probably kind of surprised that you're here where you are now, but looking back, what are some of the things that you've learned that you would advise a younger you? I guess honestly, like don't worry about it would be a big one, because I was always like, I don't know, should I do this, should I do that? Kind of, I didn't really know. And so I think that scared me even from trying a lot of things. So I think my like biggest piece of advice would be like, just kind of go for it, just see what you want to do. And like if you like it, awesome. Like you don't have to stick with it if you don't, you know? Absolutely, and especially being in Silicon Valley, there's tremendous amount of opportunities. You mentioned kind of how you got to the Cloud Know event really, networking is such an important component of that and sounds like you've been, certainly a beneficiary of that. So last question for you is kind of at the event tonight what have been some of the keynotes I have presented and we've actually spoken with both of them. What are some of the things that stick in your mind that were really like, wow, that's kind of a guiding light I want to embody? Yeah, I think, I want to say your name right, my, Mylon. Yes, thank you. Mylon Thompson-Bukovec, yes. Yes, wow. Yes. I think her speech was really motivating just because she was talking about innovation and how it's like a skill that you can learn, which I think is a really important mindset to have, you know, because a lot of people are like, oh, maybe I don't have the talent for this or like, I'm not cut out for this. We're like, actually, you could, you just have to, you know, try. You have to put in some hours, you have to do some work and it's like, it's a thing that can be learned. It's not something that you're just born with. Exactly, exactly. I love that, nobody's born with innovation. Exactly. I think one of the things that I see that you embody is you embody confidence and I'm going to try something and a lot of us aren't born with that but having that, that goal that maybe is a little bit scary is, to me, if it doesn't scare you a little bit, is it worth doing? Exactly, yeah. You have to push your boundaries a little bit. Absolutely, and really having that belief that I can do this, that there's not going to be anybody that's going to intimidate me, maybe my own self at learning as you go along the way to resolve some of those. I've also heard similar messages tonight. So, Wendora, thank you so much for being here. Thank you. Thank you so much. Best of luck in your academic career and in starting your own company in the next few years. Hopefully, when you're a CEO, we'll have you back on theCUBE. Awesome, thank you so much. Absolutely. You've been watching theCUBE. I'm Lisa Martin and I want to ask you if you know a woman who should be featured on theCUBE and filmed in our Palo Alto studios, tweet us at theCUBE, hashtag women in tech. Thanks for watching, we'll see you next time.