Camilo Pardo - Historia de crecimiento auténtico y tecnología

My Story

My name is Camilo, and this is the story of how I learned to turn adversity into opportunity. It’s not a story about lack, but about awareness; it’s not about what I didn’t have, but about what I discovered. Along the way—between city streets and keyboard strokes—I realized that power doesn’t lie in what happens to us, but in how we choose to respond.

I’ve been a shoeshiner, a street vendor, an administrative assistant, a support technician, and a front-end developer. But above all, I’ve been someone willing to look inward, to evolve, and to heal. This is a story told not from pain, but from a decision to live without resentment and with the will to grow a little more each day.

My Childhood

I was born in Choachí, a small town in Cundinamarca, into a humble farming family. There were five of us: my parents, my sister, a half-brother, and me. Childhood seemed simple and warm—until the day my parents decided to separate. I was eight years old and also dealing with a health condition: epilepsy.

My Adolescence

At the age of 14, after several years surviving on the streets, something inside me awoke. I realized I could no longer define myself by what had happened to me. I had known sadness, hunger, and abandonment, but I had also discovered that even in the darkness, there are sparks of possibility. I made myself a silent promise: if I wanted a different future, I had to take a different step.

Road to digital

Years after that first political campaign, one of the people I had met along the way helped me find my first formal job. I started working as an Administrative Assistant at a company called RGC Asesores. Although I had experience surviving on the streets, facing a computer for the first time was intimidating. But I also felt a spark—something inside me whispered that this world of screens and data could be the key to something greater.

One day, I watched one of the engineers organizing databases in Excel to make our work easier. My curiosity was piqued. When I received my second paycheck, I bought a computer and began learning on my own. Step by step, I started to master Excel, and then Visual Basic for Applications. One day, the engineer didn’t have time to organize the data, and I offered to give it a try. My boss agreed, I completed the task, the engineer validated it, and from that moment on, they entrusted me with that responsibility.

I discovered I could automate processes, reduce time, and simplify tasks. I fell in love with that feeling. I wanted more. I learned about Access, MongoDB, and MySQL, and as my contract neared its end, I asked the engineer, Francisco Martínez, if it was worth continuing to learn about databases. His answer was clear: “Yes, but I recommend starting with Front-End development.” And he didn’t just say it—he gifted me a Udemy course.

I completed it—HTML, CSS, JavaScript. That’s when I felt I was discovering another kind of language, one written not just in code, but in logic, creativity, and purpose.

Later, I worked at a transportation company, again as an administrative assistant. But this time, I had new tools. I systematized processes, created automations, and in a short time, my tasks were reduced to a minimum. While that showed my capability, it also led me to a crossroads: there was no room left to grow. So, I made a difficult decision—I resigned.

I moved to Medellín, searching for something new. There, an opportunity arose as a Support Technician at Latinoamérica Hosting. It was the right environment, but I wasn’t ready. I lacked deep technical understanding and didn’t pass the trial period. Once again, I found myself without a job, without money, and without a clear plan.

But this time, instead of getting frustrated, I did something different. I grabbed a sign and wrote: “Looking for work. I have experience as an administrative assistant and knowledge in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript,” and I stood outside two shopping malls. I made myself visible. The photos went viral. I got calls from many companies, even if I didn’t always meet their requirements. Until one call came in—the one that would change my story.

My leap into code

In March 2021, I received a call from a man named David Mahecha. He introduced himself as a recruiter for a software development company. He quickly realized that I didn’t meet the requirements for the position—something I had experienced before. But this time was different: he listened to my story. That first call turned into a second one, and eventually, a job offer.

Rebuilding my family

In 2022, while living in Medellín, I felt the need to close one of the most important chapters of my life: reconnecting with my family. I decided to call my mom and proposed something simple but deeply meaningful — to live together again. Since my job was remote, I gave her the option to choose the city. She chose Villavicencio, where my sister Karol was living.