WWCode DC Director and Capital One Labs Software Engineer – Kaylyn Gibilterra
Written by WWCode HQ with thanks to Kaylyn Gibilterra
Kaylyn first got into programming because of a misunderstanding, and a desire to get an easy A in school. At the age of 16 her friend asked her to take a class with her that was guaranteed to be a breeze. It was supposed to basically be learning a version of Powerpoint. It wasn’t until they sat down on day one that they realized they had enrolled in computer science, something that neither of them knew anything about.
But they ended up loving it, and two years later Kaylyn took the AP test and got a perfect 5. That’s when she knew that she had found a career path.
After graduating from Penn State University with a BS in Computer Science, Kaylyn went on to hold engineering positions at several firms, eventually ending up as a Software Developer at Capital One. There she is the Lead Go API developer for an internal tooling system, supporting mobile, iPad, and Web client applications.
Describing why she is drawn to code Kaylyn said, “I love problem solving that benefits the end user's life in some manner and learning all I can to accomplish that goal. Improving banking experiences is what I have the opportunity to focus on now and I am enjoying every minute of it.”
Along the way she encountered the group Women Who Code while looking for tech events in the Washington D.C. area. Taking on a leadership role, she helped to found a local Network of the organization in her area, which quickly grew to include over 1,300 members, and which held more than 100 programs in the first year alone. This has made her a leader in the engineering community, a position which she has used to empower and inspire those around her.
When asked what advice Kaylyn had for someone starting out in tech, she said, “ I spend a lot of time over thinking how much work something is going to be. But once I start building and writing code everything gains momentum. That’s when the small wins can build into your dream.”
Kaylyn Gibilterra on LinkedIn
Kaylyn Gibilterra on Twitter
