When Laia Carrillo sat down for CodeSignal’s General Coding Assessment (GCA) at a Campuslands challenge, she did not expect a spotlight. She just thought she would give it a try and see how much she had learned.
The assessment offered multiple programming languages. Many were unfamiliar, but she recognized Python. Even though it had been tough in class, she chose it and pressed start.
The habits she built at Campuslands began to take over: open a blank file, structure the problem, write, test, adjust. She had also completed the recommended CodeSignal prep courses, plus a few extras, and that practice gave the work a rhythm.
After the first task landed, she started to feel more comfortable. One problem flowed into the next, a little faster each time. She felt in the zone.
When the challenge ended, she packed up, assuming others had done better, but as the winners were announced, she was shocked to hear that she had the top score. She was so surprised she looked around to make sure it wasn’t a mistake.
By the end, Laia had done more than finish the assessment—she had won.
“When they called my name, I thought it was a mistake. I just wanted to try. At that point in my life, I didn’t see many opportunities. Realizing it was real, I felt proud.”
Laia Carrillo
The path before the podium
Laia’s path to software was anything but typical. Before she ever wrote a line of code, she spent her days immersed in music, training as a classical bassist and violinist in a symphony program. Outside the concert hall, she raced BMX competitively for ten years, a sport that taught her focus, discipline, and determination.
When she arrived at Campuslands, life was a balancing act. She worked mornings as a waitress, studied music in the middle of the day, and then joined Campuslands training sessions late into the evening. The pace was grueling, and in the first few weeks of the bootcamp, she often wondered if she could keep up. Programming felt foreign, almost like learning a new instrument with no sheet music.
But she stayed with it. Each project built from scratch, each late night debugging session added a note to her growing confidence. She took every opportunity to learn, completing all the recommended CodeSignal learning paths for the GCA and several more on her own. Over time, the logic of code began to feel like rhythm—structured, creative, and deeply satisfying. By the time the GCA challenge arrived, she had quietly transformed from a student struggling to keep pace into one fully prepared for her moment on stage.
What winning unlocked
Winning the GCA challenge changed what was possible for Laia. As part of a Campuslands award trip to Medellín, she met Mariana Pajón, Colombia’s two-time Olympic BMX gold medalist. After a decade of BMX racing, meeting a national hero from her own sport was an unforgettable moment.
Soon after, she graduated from Campuslands, proud of the discipline it demanded and the skills she had developed. That same drive helped her land her first job as a software developer while still under 18, with no prior experience in the field.
Her success also opened doors for the future. She earned a university scholarship to study Artificial Intelligence, turning her interest in technology into a formal academic path. Her next goal is to pursue a master’s degree in Barcelona, the city where she was born.
What educators can take from Laia’s story:
Laia’s trajectory highlights a simple but powerful model: structured practice → authentic assessment → visible opportunity.
- Practice starting from zero. Campuslands’ pedagogy emphasizes building real projects from a blank file. This mirrors the GCA’s focus on problem‑solving and code quality under time constraints.
- Align preparation with assessment. Completing the CodeSignal learning paths directly supported the skills measured in the GCA. The result was lower anxiety and higher velocity.
- Create early, low‑friction chances to try. Laia entered the challenge early in her program. Early attempts, even without perfect readiness, surface potential and accelerate growth.
- Celebrate outcomes publicly. Recognition, from campus‑wide announcements to meeting role models, compounds motivation and makes success visible to the next cohort.
Laia accepting her award at a Campuslands challenge.
What’s next for Laia and how to build more stories like this
Laia is continuing her university studies in Colombia, building toward advanced work in AI and a future master’s. Her combination of resilience, craft, and humility is exactly what the industry needs.
If you’re an educator or program leader, here are practical ways to replicate this arc:
- Integrate the General Coding Assessment (GCA): Provide a consistent, job‑relevant benchmark of programming skill.
- Adopt CodeSignal Learn paths: Align practice with assessment to reduce test anxiety and increase performance.
- Host a campus challenge: Pair learning with a visible milestone. Celebrate results so the next cohort can see what’s possible.
In Laia’s words: advice to the next cohort
- Don’t quit early. The difficult first weeks are part of the process.
- Treat opportunities as precious. Act as if they won’t come twice, even if they do.
- Make intentional trade‑offs. Sacrifices, including a little sleep on assessment week, can be worth it when they move your future forward.
“Opportunities don’t always come twice. Sometimes you sacrifice for the chance that changes your life.”
Laia Carrillo
Thank you
Our thanks to Campuslands—and to Diego Tarazona, Mauricio Carreño, Maria Camila Cañas, and Elizabeth Pérez—for their commitment to rigorous training and meaningful opportunity. And to Laia: thank you for allowing us to share your story. Your decision to try, and to keep going, is the kind of signal that changes trajectories.