Celina Cywinska, 21
Celina never planned on pursuing a career in tech. Her senior year of high school, she was dead set on moving to the US to study psychology. However, recognizing the high cost of studying abroad, she made the spontaneous decision to stay in Poland and enroll in a Bachelor of Engineering program in computer science at the Polish-Japanese Academy of Information Technology (PJAIT).
Celina was always independent, believing she could solve any problem by herself. But she also dealt with nagging doubts about her abilities as a programmer. “I would feel embarrassed to reach out to others for help,” she said, and found herself constantly asking: “What if people think I’m not good enough?”
When Celina found the Major League Hacking (MLH) community through the MLH Fellowship in the summer of 2022, she had already been studying computer science for 2 years. But it was through the hacker community, and not her classes, that she began to overcome her self-doubt and blossom into the successful hacker she is today. The community she joined during the MLH Fellowship showed her that asking questions was not a sign of weakness, but a marker of strength and a means to grow. Celina’s first hacking experiences were overwhelmingly positive. She participated in the MLH Fellowship Orientation Hackathon and the Fall 2022 orientation hackathon, where she was recognized for her work on Cody, an AI chatbot for computer science students.
Through hacking, Celina says, “I have learned how to ask meaningful questions, how to communicate my problems, and how to feel confident in difficult situations.” In addition to improving her technical skills, Celina believes the hacker community has been the biggest catalyst for her personal growth. Despite being more than two years into her hacking career by the time she found the MLH Fellowship, she considers it the most significant milestone of her career thus far. Inspired by mentors, pod leaders, and the new friends she met, she began to realize the importance of contributing to a team.
What keeps Celina going are the possibilities computer science presents for solving real-world problems, which can make a visible and tangible impact on the community. She is using her knowledge as a hacker to create actionable change in her community. Currently, she is partnering with local hospitals in Warsaw to create a web-based system for confidential doctor-patient communication and secure medical data storage. While studying at PJAIT, she has also worked as an open source and software engineering intern with G-Research and is in the process of interviewing for her university’s chapter of Google Developer Student Clubs. Every chance she gets, Celina is also working on raising climate change awareness and developing solutions using her technical knowledge. Her dream is to one day establish her own environmentally conscious company, writing code that truly benefits everyone.
Quick Facts
Celina Cywinska, 21
Celina never planned on pursuing a career in tech. Her senior year of high school, she was dead set on moving to the US to study psychology. However, recognizing the high cost of studying abroad, she made the spontaneous decision to stay in Poland and enroll in a Bachelor of Engineering program in computer science at the Polish-Japanese Academy of Information Technology (PJAIT).
Celina was always independent, believing she could solve any problem by herself. But she also dealt with nagging doubts about her abilities as a programmer. “I would feel embarrassed to reach out to others for help,” she said, and found herself constantly asking: “What if people think I’m not good enough?”
When Celina found the Major League Hacking (MLH) community through the MLH Fellowship in the summer of 2022, she had already been studying computer science for 2 years. But it was through the hacker community, and not her classes, that she began to overcome her self-doubt and blossom into the successful hacker she is today. The community she joined during the MLH Fellowship showed her that asking questions was not a sign of weakness, but a marker of strength and a means to grow. Celina’s first hacking experiences were overwhelmingly positive. She participated in the MLH Fellowship Orientation Hackathon and the Fall 2022 orientation hackathon, where she was recognized for her work on Cody, an AI chatbot for computer science students.
Through hacking, Celina says, “I have learned how to ask meaningful questions, how to communicate my problems, and how to feel confident in difficult situations.” In addition to improving her technical skills, Celina believes the hacker community has been the biggest catalyst for her personal growth. Despite being more than two years into her hacking career by the time she found the MLH Fellowship, she considers it the most significant milestone of her career thus far. Inspired by mentors, pod leaders, and the new friends she met, she began to realize the importance of contributing to a team.
What keeps Celina going are the possibilities computer science presents for solving real-world problems, which can make a visible and tangible impact on the community. She is using her knowledge as a hacker to create actionable change in her community. Currently, she is partnering with local hospitals in Warsaw to create a web-based system for confidential doctor-patient communication and secure medical data storage. While studying at PJAIT, she has also worked as an open source and software engineering intern with G-Research and is in the process of interviewing for her university’s chapter of Google Developer Student Clubs. Every chance she gets, Celina is also working on raising climate change awareness and developing solutions using her technical knowledge. Her dream is to one day establish her own environmentally conscious company, writing code that truly benefits everyone.
Quick Facts
