Admissions Counselor Briana Carlisle Talks Diversity In Tech

Briana Carlisle is an Admissions Counselor here at Devmountain. She works closely with potential and new students as they make a career change into the tech industry. She has worked with a variety of students from multiple different backgrounds.

We talked with Briana to get the inside scoop on her thoughts about making space for greater diversity in tech.

What are your favorite LBGTQ+ organizations to support or social media accounts to follow?

I haven’t found any organizations that I love yet, but I follow several accounts on TikTok and Instagram: lesbimum, lezgettoasty, neighborhoodchangeling, elle.argent, plantbasedbirdgirl, opal_wells, claire_training, and jessycafulmer.

What are the best ways for classmates and coworkers to support members of the LBGTQ+ community in tech?

That’s a great question! A big one that I’m working on is acknowledging the first time that someone shares with me that they’re part of the alphabet mafia. A simple “I appreciate you sharing XYZ with me; I want you to know that you’re safe with me” can be all it takes to start building a relationship with someone. As a recently out queer woman, this is the type of reassurance that I really appreciate, and I continue to look for ways to reassure and support other individuals in the LBGTQ+ community.

Oftentimes, people starting out in a new career struggle with imposter syndrome, and this can be even more heightened as a member of an underrepresented group in tech. Do you have any tips on how students and grads can overcome this?

  1. Figure out what obstacles are in your way. The #1 thing that worked for me was being diagnosed with ADHD and finding a medication that worked for me. That helped me to get over several hurdles with time management and self-esteem issues.
  2. Connect with other individuals on your team/cohort, share your successes and struggles, and ask them about areas where they struggle. Making connections with people and finding out that they are also human helped me to cultivate self-compassion and see my contributions for what they really are.
  3. Learn to laugh at yourself and just generally don’t take things as seriously. When I catch myself thinking that I’m underperforming or making a lot of mistakes, I try to find something funny about the situation. When I do make a mistake, one of my favorite ways to brush things off is by saying “Well, that happened,” because it helps me to disconnect the action from my self-worth or efficiency. It’s just a thing that happened, and it doesn’t mean it’s part of who I am.

Anything else you’d like to add?

I think it’s important to assume that your coworkers/classmates/instructors are invested in you personally and want to help you succeed. Adopting this mindset has helped me to get a handle on my own imposter syndrome and to feel confident interacting with coworkers who I rarely see, since I work remotely.

Devmountain Is Proud Of The Inclusive Tech Community

We love the Devmountain Community. We love how so many students from different backgrounds are able to come together, learn new skills, and work on their careers together while still being different people.

If you think you’d be interested in joining the Devmountain community, please reach out and ask us your questions. We love talking to potential students!

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