As always, one of my favorite tech events is the Code Connector's "𝐂𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞". It’s a community-driven judgment-free forum where developers of all levels come to present their projects (finished or not), receive thoughtful feedback, and have conversations about real work in progress.
At the most recent meetup, the lineup reflected the depth and diversity of talent in our region:
🔧 A retired IBM engineer opened with a talk on 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞. While light on demos, it offered a window into niche tech that many early career devs rarely get to explore.
Screen shot of Kevin Kawchek’s presentation
🤖 AI veteran Kevin Kawchak delivered a 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢-𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 on applying tools like Claude, Grok, OpenAI, AI Studio, and Opus 4 for pancreatic cancer research. It was an incredible demonstration of how these models differ and how they can be leveraged in meaningful, life-changing ways.
Screenshot of Joseph Raynovic’s presentation
🐷 Joseph Raynovic wowed the room with a 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥-𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 for a mobile BBQ grill food truck complete with Firebase, Nest.js, and React. His presentation sparked a rich discussion on simplicity in product design: “Let the user tell you what they want, don’t overbuild.”
🌐 Following Joseph’s demo, JC Smiley shared recent updates from the Memphis Tech Scene website. This included a new sponsor page, a live preview submission tool for events, a redesigned landing page, and Cypress-powered end-to-end testing to ensure stability as we grow. Every feature is built with the goal of making Memphis’ tech events more visible, accessible, and easy to share.
Screenshot of Ryan Bommarito’s presentation
🍪 Then came Ryan Bommarito, boot-camper and future full-stack developer, who showcased a beautiful feature-rich 𝐅𝐢𝐠𝐦𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐞-𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐩𝐩. His presentation sparked one of the most valuable moments of the evening: a community-wide mentoring session.
💡 Key advice shared by senior tech professionals in the room:
Start integrating AI into your dev workflow; it’s a force multiplier.
Know your fundamentals; CS concepts still matter.
Build your network and learn to communicate your value (branding/marketing). Your resume alone won’t open every door.
Practice articulating your thought process, as storytelling is a tech skill too.
Be open to tech-adjacent roles that build leadership and communication skills while possibly opening doors.
Build for real users. Tutorials teach code, but building products teaches context.
Maintain a personal domain and portfolio that reflects your evolving skillset.
Aim to go deep in your core skills and wide in adjacent disciplines. Treat interview prep as its own craft, separate from coding and just as valuable.
I love this quote: "The harder you train, the smoother the real moments go."
We wrapped with a thoughtful roundtable on 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲:
Staying current with the fast pace of AI advancements.
The widening gap in generational knowledge transfer.
Over-reliance on automation without understanding.
The evolving expectation for “M-shaped” developers, those with multiple deep skills, not just one specialty.