How CanCode Changed Lee McPeters’ Trajectory
Seven years ago, Lee McPeters thought coding was something people did in the movies. Today, he writes code—and teaches other people how to do it.
Lee grew up in Albany and Athens, New York, and double majored in communications and English. After college, he worked a series of jobs ranging from data entry to maintenance, security and other forms of manual labor.
He enjoyed working with his hands and seeing the tangible results of his effort. But the physical work was hard on his body, and the jobs didn’t offer the stability or long-term opportunities he wanted.
“I was making enough money to live, but pretty much just that,” Lee said.
He knew he needed a different path. He just wasn’t sure what that path could be.
Taking a Chance on Something New
In 2019, a coworker introduced Lee to coding.
“For me, coding was something that was always, like, in the movies,” he said. “I was like, well, yeah, I could probably do it. But isn’t that hard?”
The idea was intimidating. Lee had struggled in traditional school settings, and returning to a classroom to learn a completely unfamiliar skill felt risky.
But he also knew that staying where he was wasn’t working.
“I really just wanted to change my situation,” Lee said. “I just wanted to kind of get into a different trajectory.”
Financial aid made it possible for him to enroll in a CanCode Communities course and give that new trajectory a chance.
“Having the financial aid and everything was great—being able to get funded,” he said. “Someone’s funding this for me. I want to succeed. I don’t want to waste that opportunity.”
A Different Kind of Classroom
Lee quickly discovered that CanCode was not like the traditional classrooms he remembered.
“CanCode is completely different,” he said. “We try to stay away from that classroom experience.”
There were no grades and no expectation that every student would learn at exactly the same pace. Students could ask questions, attend extra sessions and receive additional help when they needed it.
That supportive environment allowed Lee to focus on learning instead of worrying about whether he belonged.
By the third or fourth week, something began to change: Lee started to believe he could actually do this.
The collaborative, in-person classroom environment helped him build skills in front-end web development and JavaScript. Coding also gave him a new outlet for his creativity. Like the physical jobs he once enjoyed, it allowed him to build something and see the result of his work—without the physical toll.
“It was really rewarding because you could see the product that came out of it,” he said.
From Student to Instructor
Lee and his parents at the graduation of his first Can Code class in Spring of 2019.
Lee’s connection to CanCode didn’t end when his first course did.
With continued encouragement from CanCode team members, including Stacey, he became a teaching assistant. Then, he stepped into the role of instructor.
He has now been part of CanCode for six years.
His transformation is especially meaningful because Lee grew up with a severe stutter. Standing in front of a class and leading others once may have seemed unimaginable. Today, teaching is where he thrives.
He now gets to offer new students the same encouragement that helped him recognize his own potential.
“We want to help people who don’t think they can do it,” Lee said—people who may believe they aren’t smart enough or technologically savvy enough to succeed in the field.
Lee knows that fear because he felt it himself.
He also knows what can happen when someone is given access to training, financial support and a learning environment designed to help them succeed.
More Than a Career Change
CanCode helped Lee learn a new technical skill, but its impact went far beyond coding.
The experience changed his career trajectory, strengthened his confidence and opened possibilities he hadn’t previously imagined for himself.
Seven years ago, coding belonged in the movies.
Today, it is Lee’s career, his creative outlet and his opportunity to help other people change their lives.
His story is proof that talent can be found in unexpected places—and that sometimes, people don’t need to be convinced they can succeed. They simply need access to an opportunity, a supportive community and someone willing to believe in them while they learn to believe in themselves.