Paola Oliveira, 20
Paola Oliveira: From Caregiver to Codebreaker
Paola Oliveira didn’t grow up thinking she’d be a coder. In fact, for most of high school, she didn’t even have the freedom to explore what she loved. When COVID hit, her life became all about caring for her parents, managing medications, surgeries, and responsibilities that would overwhelm most adults let alone a teenager.
“While others were learning new skills or discovering hobbies during lockdown,” she remembers, “I was just trying to keep my family afloat.”
It wasn’t until she graduated that things began to shift. For the first time, Paola had room to breathe and space to listen to the quiet curiosity that had always been there. She thought back to the afternoons spent poking around her dad’s computer, mesmerized by the spinning fan, or the pride of formatting her first school paper on Microsoft Word. That spark was still there.
She enrolled in a vocational programming course and quickly realized this wasn’t just a passing interest. “Programming was more than something I enjoyed,” she says. “It was what I wanted to do with my life.”
From there, Paola took bold steps. Really bold. She flew solo from Brazil to the U.S. to attend her first hackathon: PennApps. No team. No plan. Just curiosity and a carry-on. By the end of the weekend, she had built a project, made global friends, and walked away with a new level of confidence. “It was like I had updated my system: version 2.0, now with boldness installed.”
That first event ignited a chain reaction. She went on a solo U.S. hackathon tour, joining Uncommon Hacks, Hackabull, WildHacks, and HackDavis all while proudly representing the Brazilian dev community. Her goal now is to bring the spirit of MLH back home and make these opportunities more accessible for students in Brazil.
Hackathons became more than a coding competition for Paola. They were places where her creativity, resilience, and empathy came alive. “Before hackathons, I thought coding was something you did quietly, alone, behind a screen,” she says. “But I realized it could be loud, collaborative, messy, and beautifully chaotic.”
Outside the hackathon scene, Paola’s just as committed to lifting others up. As a Section Leader for Stanford’s global CS program, Code in Place, she teaches beginners from around the world, helping them take their first steps in Python. She also contributes to forums, mentors fellow developers and volunteers as part of the staff team at Codecon Summit, a major developer conference that brings together 1,800+ participants across Brazil.
Paola’s story is full of unexpected moments like being called a “coding goddess” by a stranger she helped debug, or co-parenting a capybara plushie with her best friend. It’s in these little memories that her warmth shines brightest.
She’s a traveler, a React enthusiast, a motorbike rider, and a believer in building with both logic and heart. Her story isn’t just about overcoming challenges. It’s about reshaping what’s possible when you lead with courage and community.
Quick Facts
Paola Oliveira, 20
Paola Oliveira: From Caregiver to Codebreaker
Paola Oliveira didn’t grow up thinking she’d be a coder. In fact, for most of high school, she didn’t even have the freedom to explore what she loved. When COVID hit, her life became all about caring for her parents, managing medications, surgeries, and responsibilities that would overwhelm most adults let alone a teenager.
“While others were learning new skills or discovering hobbies during lockdown,” she remembers, “I was just trying to keep my family afloat.”
It wasn’t until she graduated that things began to shift. For the first time, Paola had room to breathe and space to listen to the quiet curiosity that had always been there. She thought back to the afternoons spent poking around her dad’s computer, mesmerized by the spinning fan, or the pride of formatting her first school paper on Microsoft Word. That spark was still there.
She enrolled in a vocational programming course and quickly realized this wasn’t just a passing interest. “Programming was more than something I enjoyed,” she says. “It was what I wanted to do with my life.”
From there, Paola took bold steps. Really bold. She flew solo from Brazil to the U.S. to attend her first hackathon: PennApps. No team. No plan. Just curiosity and a carry-on. By the end of the weekend, she had built a project, made global friends, and walked away with a new level of confidence. “It was like I had updated my system: version 2.0, now with boldness installed.”
That first event ignited a chain reaction. She went on a solo U.S. hackathon tour, joining Uncommon Hacks, Hackabull, WildHacks, and HackDavis all while proudly representing the Brazilian dev community. Her goal now is to bring the spirit of MLH back home and make these opportunities more accessible for students in Brazil.
Hackathons became more than a coding competition for Paola. They were places where her creativity, resilience, and empathy came alive. “Before hackathons, I thought coding was something you did quietly, alone, behind a screen,” she says. “But I realized it could be loud, collaborative, messy, and beautifully chaotic.”
Outside the hackathon scene, Paola’s just as committed to lifting others up. As a Section Leader for Stanford’s global CS program, Code in Place, she teaches beginners from around the world, helping them take their first steps in Python. She also contributes to forums, mentors fellow developers and volunteers as part of the staff team at Codecon Summit, a major developer conference that brings together 1,800+ participants across Brazil.
Paola’s story is full of unexpected moments like being called a “coding goddess” by a stranger she helped debug, or co-parenting a capybara plushie with her best friend. It’s in these little memories that her warmth shines brightest.
She’s a traveler, a React enthusiast, a motorbike rider, and a believer in building with both logic and heart. Her story isn’t just about overcoming challenges. It’s about reshaping what’s possible when you lead with courage and community.
