Natalia Venditto: Architecting a successful career in Angular
Google Developers Experts is a community of passionate developers who love to share their knowledge with others. There are over 150 women in the community. #WomenAreExperts is a series that features their stories and achievements, with an aim to inspire more women to follow their path.
Today, meet Natalia Venditto — a Google Developer Expert in Angular, and an architecture student turned Principal Solutions Architect.
Hi Natalia! Can you tell us about yourself?
My name is Natalia Venditto and I was born in a tiny South American country called Uruguay. People think that all South America is super warm, but actually it’s pretty windy and chilly down there. I moved to Europe almost 20 years ago. Right now I am an established software professional, working as a Solutions Architect for enterprise scale projects.
What was your road to becoming a software engineer, and an Angular expert?
That’s a great question! I started down a very different path. I am actually a draftswoman and I was meant to study to become a (buildings) architect, but somewhere down the road I met computer assisted design and loved it. I decided I wanted to become a Graphic Designer instead. I worked as a Graphic Designer for a few years, and by 2005 I was designing and developing websites. I learned from community resources: mostly tutorials and video tutorials, and from open source projects.
You are incredibly active in the Angular community: you are a developer, an Angular GDE, and a content creator. What keeps you motivated to do all these things?
Because I learned from the community, I want to give back to it. I am today a very successful software developer and architect, and it wouldn’t be possible if people before me did not spend their time and efforts in putting resources out there. My main goal is to make it possible for women, other minorities, and people who did not have access to University education, the chance to learn and land a job in tech, like I did.
What is your favorite part of giving back to the Angular developer community?
The Angular community is amazing and very active. We have many conferences and community gatherings and we’re like a family. Angular is a wonderful and very advanced technology, and like every technology such, it has its complexity. I love how Angular developers are always striving to learn and be better, and truly produce outstanding work.
You are passionate about supporting women in tech. Tell us more about it.
Apart from sharing knowledge as a GDE for Angular and Web Technologies, I am part of the Women Techmakers community and I help organize events in Barcelona, particularly the International Women’s Day, where women have the chance to share their knowledge in a safe and welcoming environment. They have the chance to become public speakers and start a career in developer advocacy. It is a very important part of who I am, and I am ecstatic to have the chance to help women become active members of the community.
The tech world is still far from perfect when it comes to gender diversity and inclusion. What can each of us do to help change this?
We should stay open minded. Be empathic. Recognize everyone is different and that’s the beauty of it. These differences make possible diversity, and the more diverse a community, a team is, the better the results. Perspective is everything.
What does it mean to be a Google Developer Expert?
It means to have the chance to reach farther and share knowledge with larger groups. To have the chance to speak up for others, and even influence the trends in technology and product roadmap, by creating a bridge between product developers and the community. It means to make sure that all resources necessary to learn a technology are available to everyone. It means to make it easy for others to succeed.
What advice would you give to a woman considering applying for the GDE program?
Do not hesitate! Oftentimes women won’t apply to such programs because they’re stopped by their own inner voice saying: “You’re not ready for it, you don’t know it all!”. But nobody knows it all! Working in technologies is all about constant learning and evolving. Being a contributor and a community member is not about knowing everything, it is about sharing what you do know. About overcoming your own fears to become a role model and inspire others.
That’s great advice! Lastly, if you could have one superpower, what would it be?
I would have a magic wand that makes people believe in themselves. Everything is possible if you work hard for it and are confident about the importance of giving.
I love that spirit! Thank you for sharing your story Natalia!
Read more stories from our Angular Experts: Tracy Lee, Alyssa Nicoll & Nishu Goel.
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