Accomplished digital content producer with multiple degrees returns to community college to sharpen AI, other tech skills
Isadora Vasconcellos has parlayed her lifelong love of computers and technology into a career as a digital content producer, and is now exploring how small businesses can use AI for effective, affordable marketing solutions. Photo by George E Baker Jr
In Natal, Brazil, Isadora Vasconcellos realized she was wired for technology when her computer failed and she couldn’t figure out the problem. Instead of feeling frustration, she greeted visits to the repair shop as free education.
“I was always in love with technology,” Vasconcellos says. “When a computer broke down, I would be standing there behind the repair person, asking him, ‘What is this thing? How does this work?”
Vasconcellos first came to the U.S. as an au pair in 2011. She later earned a bachelor’s degree in social communications at the Federal University of Rio Grande Norte in Natal and a master’s degree in strategic communications from Trinity Washington University in Washington, D.C.
Now 34, Vasconcellos has produced digital content for English as a second language programs and helped with online course offerings as a program assistant at the Inter-American Development Bank, which finances development in 26 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean.
To accelerate her career in digital marketing and web development, Vasconcellos decided to continue her education at San Jose City College and West Valley College in Saratoga. She is taking advantage of the College to Careers Pathways Program, which offers mentoring and apprenticeships for technology careers.
She is mastering full stack web application development, acquiring the skills for both layout and design as well as back-end server configuration and programming.
Isadora Vasconcellos, Digital Content Producer and San Jose City College/West Valley College Student
“In technology, I could use everything I had acquired in all my years of studying and working in digital marketing. It was exciting knowing that I didn’t have to erase all my background. I could continue building on that and mixing all the passions I have.”
“Imagine full stack as a primary care physician” for web development, she explained. “It takes care of everything.”
Vasconcellos has also thrived under the guidance of San Jose City College professor Sanjay Dorairaj. He leads the college’s data science program, instructing students in programming languages, including Python and JavaScript.
“Isadora embodies the spirit of lifelong learning and innovation that we aim to foster through our data science and AI programs,” Dorairaj says. “Her ability to integrate her background in digital marketing with cutting-edge technology demonstrates the real-world impact of the skills students acquire through our curriculum.”
She has worked with Dorairaj on an AI apprenticeship program focused on using the technology for such things as charitable platforms and recruiting volunteers.
“Isadora showed remarkable aptitude for applying AI to solve practical problems,” says Dorairaj, who notes that her efforts “reflect a deep commitment to using technology for meaningful outcomes.”
Such endeavors align with the California Community Colleges’ Vision 2030, a strategic action plan overseen by the system’s Chancellor’s Office that aims to enhance student outcomes, make education more equitable and accessible and focus efforts on issues like climate resiliency and AI and the future of learning.
Vasconcellos says Dorairaj inspired her to realize that, “In technology, I could use everything I had acquired in all my years of studying and working in digital marketing. It was exciting knowing that I didn’t have to erase all my background. I could continue building on that and mixing all the passions I have.”
Her passion now is to use AI and web development tools to create affordable marketing solutions for small businesses, enabling them to create web and social media content “without having to pay thousands of dollars for public relations and digital marketing.”
For more information about San Jose City College’s AI-related and other courses, go to sjcc.edu. To learn more about the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office and Vision 2030, go to www.cccco.edu.
Written by Peter Hecht
| Regions | Classes & Topics |
|---|---|
| Bay Area California | Artificial Intelligence – English as a Second Language |
