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Mojo Spotlight

Persevere Instructor Spotlight: Meet Valerie Moyo

Our greatest asset is our staff. Particularly our instructors who are helping our folks gain valuable skills in coding. Not only are they top notch, but they are pretty amazing humans as well. Check out the Instructor Spotlight series to get to know them.

Name: Valerie Moyo

What Location do you teach at and for how long?
I teach at the WTRC in West Tennessee.  I have been with Persevere since November 2022

Where are you from originally?
Botswana, Africa. I’m also from Zimbabwe by marriage.

Where did you learn coding?
Rhodes University, South Africa where I got my computer science degree.

What is your favorite thing about coding?
I enjoy designing programs, using the problem-solving process to come up with code solutions. I like to go through the process of thinking through problems because the ability to overcome challenges is satisfying. You get to see how programs come together and being involved in the process is also a worthwhile endeavor.

What is the hardest thing about coding?
Thinking about the code is harder than coding itself. The code is the goal, the final product. The process of coming up with the code is actually harder because thinking is not as easy or as straightforward as you can expect. It took a long time for me to learn how to think like a programmer. Once I was able to figure it out, it has made coding a lot easier because I have the right tools and processes, and with enough time, patience and knowledge, I can code anything.

What do you enjoy most about teaching?
I enjoy interacting with my students and walking with them through their learning journey. I also enjoy building content for my students because I get to answer the questions I also had when I was learning how to code.

Tell us about a project you worked on that you are especially proud of.
I worked on a system that integrated Web Real-Time Communication (WebRTC) and the Session Initiation Protocol for my master’s research. I managed to make audio and video calls from a browser to a SIP phone. I’m proud of it because I got to try it out back when WebRTC was still new within browsers.
 
What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
I enjoy reading and spending time with my family. I have a husband and two children that make like meaningful and fulfilling.
 
Do you have any pets?
Not yet. I don’t particularly like pets but my husband wants a dog, apparently it’s also good for kids to grow up around animals so I will have pets in my near future.
 
Favorite Movie or Show.
I like superhero movies, mainly from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. My favorite is Spider-Man, the trilogy with Tobey Maguire. I still think of him as the original Spider-Man. The others do well though.
 
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