The Women Who Helped Me Grow as a Developer

Last night while reading articles on Dev.to, I realized how many amazing women I have learned from this year. From development to DevOps to community building, many of the things I understand today came from their articles, videos, and experiences they shared with everyone. Since today is **International Women’s Day**, I want to dedicate this article to all the women and congratulate them on this special day. We all have women supporting us in one form or another. It could be a mom, sister, best friend, girlfriend or wife. So I want to share what I learned from the women I met or know. ## My Motivation This goes to **my mom** and to **every mother** who supports their child no matter what the situation is. The hard work and dedication that we learn in life often comes from our mothers. My mother has a big influence on me. The other day I saw a reel on Instagram saying that if you want to stay motivated and hardworking, look at your mother. She cooks food, takes care of the house, and takes care of everyone even when she is sick. This shows the level of dedication and hard work love can bring. She cheers for us when we get good grades and takes care of us when we get injured for the first time. A proud moment for her came when I was in 8th class and won my first award. It was such a big deal for her because no one in the family had ever received an award like that before. When she saw my picture in the school magazine she cut it out and kept it safe to frame it later. It was not a big moment for me at the time, but it meant everything to her. I will always try to give her the best life for all the hard work, love, and care she has given me. **Thank you so much mom.** ## My Inspiration This goes to @jess, the cofounder of Dev.to. I always look forward to her articles because she brings Dev Challenges and Dev Education Tracks for the community. The Dev Challenges contain amazing ideas that encourage developers to build and share. She was the first person to comment on my post because she liked the idea. I was stunned that the cofounder found my idea interesting. I was starstruck for days and it motivated me to write better articles every time. The Dev Challenges posted by her are the main reason I am on this platform. In 2025 when I discovered Dev.to, I wanted to explore and write articles but I did not know where to start. Then I found the Dev Challenges and the **_Runner H AI Agent Prompting Challenge_**. That was the first Dev Challenge I participated in and once people liked it there was no going back. I was also amazed by the badge system. When I wrote my first article I received a notification for earning the **Writing Debut badge**. That was a proud moment for me. Later I also got the opportunity to volunteer as a judge for some challenges. After every challenge ends I wait excitedly for the email from Jess Lee inviting volunteer judges. It gives me an opportunity to read amazing submissions and learn from how developers explain and build their ideas. **A huge thanks to @jess and her team for building such an amazing platform and such a supportive developer and writing community.** ## My First Dev Friend This goes to @hadil. While exploring the platform and reading amazing articles, one article by her caught my attention. It was this Dev Challenge [**_Frontend Challenge Halloween Edition Perfect Landing_**](https://dev.to/hadil/halloween-party-2025-a-responsive-halloween-landing-page-for-the-devto-frontend-challenge-3n0n). It was such an amazing article and website that I bookmarked it so I could read it again and learn from it. I started following her and even connected with her on LinkedIn. My first message to her was about how amazing her articles were, and since then she has motivated me to write better articles. Her articles are very informative and contain deep knowledge. One day I scrolled through her profile and started reading multiple articles. I got stuck in a loop reading them. I love many of her articles, but my favorites are the ones about Final Round AI where she explains how it helps in clearing interviews. Her series for [interviews](https://dev.to/finalroundai/40-system-design-questions-that-can-land-you-a-150k-job-in-2025-18j2) is also one of my favorites. She also writes about BiFrost, which was something completely new for me and helped me learn about it in simple language. I always look forward to her articles because they contain a lot of knowledge and the dedication she puts into writing them is worth every word. **Thank you so much @hadil for writing such amazing content and motivating everyone.** ## My Mentor This goes to @sylwia-lask. I am a web developer and I mostly read and write about web development. One day I came across her article titled [**Is Learning CSS a Waste of Time in 2026**](https://dev.to/sylwia-lask/is-learning-css-a-waste-of-time-in-2026-nj3). It was exactly the same time when I was improving my Tailwind skills and I was amazed by how clearly she explained everything. She usually starts her articles with a curious question and then explains the topic using her knowledge. Her ten plus years of experience clearly reflect in her articles. Whenever I read them it feels like attending a Dev.to class by Sylwia Laskowska. Her recent article [**16 Modern JavaScript Features That Might Blow Your Mind**](https://dev.to/sylwia-lask/16-modern-javascript-features-that-might-blow-your-mind-4h5e) came at the perfect time because I was revising JavaScript. It felt like a blessing when I read it. The depth of knowledge and the simple writing style makes her articles amazing. I always look forward to her articles just like a student waits for the teacher to start a lecture in the classroom. **Thank you so much @sylwia-lask for writing such amazing articles and being my mentor**. ## My Docker Teacher This goes to [TechWorld with Nana](https://www.youtube.com/@TechWorldwithNana). She is an amazing YouTuber and an amazing teacher. When I wanted to learn Docker, Golang and DevOps concepts, I came across her YouTube channel. The simplicity with which she explains complex topics makes everything easy to understand. It feels like asking an AI model to explain something like I am five years old. Through her videos I learned about Golang, Docker, Kafka and many other DevOps tools. She is the main reason I understand these technologies today. These tools are often mentioned in system design discussions and her tutorials helped me understand them from the basics. Everyone should check out her channel for all the amazing DevOps content. **Thanks for your lessons on Docker and Golang.** While reading their articles and watching their content, I realized how much technical knowledge I gained from them. Many of the concepts I understand today in JavaScript, DevOps, Docker, Golang, and development practices came from creators like them who openly share their knowledge with the community. The tech world becomes better when knowledge is shared, and these creators are doing exactly that by helping thousands of developers learn and grow every day. **Comment and tag your favorite female creator and write one line about what you learned from them.**