Learning and growing software development and programming skills doesn’t have to be a solitary endeavor in Hampton Roads.
Whether someone is interested in JavaScript, artificial intelligence or cybersecurity, they can find a place to learn and network through 757 Tech, said co-founder Kevin Griffin.
“Everything we do is about creating opportunities and, more important, having other people create opportunities,” he said. “We love this region and want to try to make it the best tech hub we can.”
After graduating from Old Dominion University in 2007, Griffin would go to Richmond to meet with peers in the tech industry. He realized others were making the same trip and thought there would be an interest in meetups in Hampton Roads.
That grew into hosting conferences, including RevolutionConf and Hampton Roads DevFest. Eventually, 757 Tech was created under the nonprofit RevolutionVA, founded by Griffin and Laura Nichols, who also works in tech.
Meetups can be focused on a specific topic, and a few are designed for people to bring in projects and connect.
Chazona Baum started going to Late Night Builders nearly a decade ago. The monthly group gets together after 9 p.m., so she can join once her children are asleep.
It was a way to get her foot in the door as a software engineer and build relationships. And it’s those connections that have kept her involved.
“Everybody in this community has been the warmest, most wholesome group of people that I think I've ever met,” she said. “Everybody's kind of looking behind them, and is like, ‘Are we extending the ladder for the next person that comes after us?’
“How do you not want to keep being a part of that?”
757 Tech held a meetup on HTML Day last month. It was a chance for anyone to learn the language that powers what a website looks like. About 30 people, including children and novices, came to learn and nearly a dozen launched websites.
“If they walk away having learned one new thing – that could be about HTML, it could be about themselves, it could be about a new friend that they made – I would say that's a win,” Baum said.
757 Tech is about building community, said Paul Chin. He started going to Norfolk JavaScript meetups about 10 years ago, learned to code and then started a career as a developer. He now leads the Norfolk JavaScript meetups and created an HTML starter walkthrough for his children.
Through 757 Tech, Chin said he’s energized to keep learning and teaching others.
“Having a community is really important. Otherwise, you get lost, and without that human kind of actual connection, you can get burned out,” he said. “You can spin your tires very easily. So, I come back to this community again and again.”
To learn more and find meetups, visit757tech.org.
