Hi! I've been a CS nerd/web dev for many years, but I'd also say I'm "new to the game". This is "a whole different ballgame" to what I'm used to from past experience. I have spent the last year of my life learning JavaScript. Several weeks ago, I graduated from Telegraph Academy, Hack Reactor Core's East Bay school (anyone can attend who passes the rigorous selection process, but it's targeted at underrepresented minorities in the software engineering industry- women and people of color). During the course of my search for a full time job, I'm going to a ton of similar events and working on various projects. Always happy to connect! Regarding open source projects, that is great advice. My favorite open source project right now is SudoMesh! We are working on a UI right now, with all kinds of things to do. This could be a cool project for your pal to check out. best, Elizabeth