Meet our VIP Lillie: I’m a software engineer, but my background is in teaching computer science. I still spend time volunteering with the community, most recently through an organization called @codepathorg (CodePath.org). They give mentorship and opportunity-access to students from underrepresented backgrounds in tech. They periodically run weeks of resume review and mock interviews, that software industry workers are invited to help facilitate!
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When I first came to Talitha Dance, I was unemployed and knew that I needed to make some changes and take better care of myself in order to move my life forward. One of my best friends had given me an open invitation to join her at 'this fantastic Zumba class' for years, and I decided that it would be a great first step. It absolutely was! I immediately started going on my own whenever I could, and it helped me hold onto structure and positivity long enough to find what I needed, and to keep bringing me back! Full disclosure, I absolutely hate working out! But that’s the beauty of Talitha Dance: fun and community are built into every experience. So I was able to enjoy the feeling of exercising without feeling like I was only doing it to meet some societal standard. Every class, I am there for ME, and I love it!
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Talitha Dance was financially accessible and welcoming to me during an incredibly difficult time in my life. Fitness Bingo, a game that Talitha runs every winter to help us keep choosing ourselves and coming out through the cold, particularly gave me focus— you can engage as little or as much as you like, and win prizes the more you do. I structured my weeks around getting bingo as many times as possible, which had the added bonus of giving me an extra win when I really needed it. Thank you Talitha, and thank you to the Talitha Dance community!! I’m so grateful I get to dance with you all <3
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