My name is Demi Kleinsmith, I am 23 years old and reside in Athlone. I struggled to find employment after graduating with my diploma in 2019, due to the pandemic. It was difficult and I felt lost.
I found ways to keep busy, I searched for new opportunities that I would find exciting. A friend reached out to me and sent me the details of the opportunity with RLabs. I gravitated towards it because it seemed like a great and new challenge, and I would be learning a lot of things. I loved what the programme had to offer, as I previously had been interested in coding. It was really exciting that RLabs was offering this kind of opportunity for free and that they would be assisting us on this journey, offering guidance and support.
Through the programme, I have gained more focus and insight into digital spaces and experienced teamwork at a different level. This experience has helped me gain skills and encouraged me to have better work ethics. The impact can be seen in my mindset and how much it has changed. The key things I’ve learned is the power of community and teamwork, and what can be achieved when there is a drive to do better and produce wonderful products. Building apps on glide, websites on Wix, editing software with videos, collaborating with a team and time management are things that are part of shaping my future.
The team from RLabs has been wonderful in assisting and supporting us during our venture. We got a breakdown of what the entire program would look like and were split into teams. For these past few months, we got to experience working on our own and in teams and have learned about app building, website building, google tools and programmes, and creating videos. My extraordinary moments were doing more than I needed to on my last group deliverable by leading a voice over for our video, assisted other members with my input, always submitting on time and always being present in meetings and leadership sessions
