Today, I would like to honor a generous soul, Vincent Tang. During the middle of the week, one of my good friends messaged me in a pretty emotional state telling me that Vincent had passed away. The news of his passing brings us great sadness. To the family and friends of Vincent, please know that we’ll be praying for you in the coming weeks.
In this post, I wanted to reflect upon a few themes of Mr. Tang’s life that I admired. I want to highlight a few elements that I hope continue in my life and the journey of the communities that I support. When you see ripples or waves in a pond, you can conclude that someone threw a big rock somewhere in that body of water. Reflecting on Vincent’s life, he liked making waves to encourage his own growth and making opportunities for others. We’re thankful for his generous soul.
Vincent and his relentless learning
In my time doing GDG, Vincent has a special place in my memory. When he still lived in Orlando, I can recall him attending a few of our GDG meetups. I can recall times that we talked about his journey, his work in the family business, and his desire to make and create as a developer. I can recall his appreciation for the family business and the life lessons it had taught him.
Over the years, it has been cool to re-connect with him through the dev meetups. We would see each other at Orlando Code Camp, DevFests, or various Odev events. He had great admiration for the work of ODevs and the network of dev communities here in Orlando. As he made a transition into life in Tampa, I feel like the community organizer fire started for him. When you change your city, it sometimes helps you change your identity. I can recall cheering him on as he built some really cool Web3D experiences and grew his talents as a software engineer. At the same time, he especially appreciated the community impact of organizations like ODevs for his journey. He started getting the idea of launching Tampa Devs meetup. I can recall a time that he requested guidance on marketing a dev conference. Reading between the lines, I could tell he was leaning into his persona as community leader with great vigor. And he succeeded robustly!
I deeply admire and respect his career growth and his growth as community leader. Growing a tribe, serving them with a generous heart, and creating opportunity for that community is not easy work. Moving your career into software development is a challenging road. Vincent’s relentless vigor for learning and his generous spirit is amazing. He had a beautiful habit of reading and reflecting with his community. I would invite you to check out his post about “learning without boundaries .”
Learn without Boundaries | Vincent’s Website
“When you do learn without boundaries, you can be a creative original thinker – and break out of molds you don’t want to be in, and embrace new ventures you didn’t know existed”
— Vincent Tang
Opening Doors for others
In our current world and watching the news, it’s very easy to say that the “glass is half empty.” Vincent’s community work teaches us that we can make positive change in our corner of the earth. You don’t need permission. His example shows us that we can become a light and open doors to others. Vincent co-founded Tampa Devs community with his friend Haritha in 2021. They longed to create a supportive community that would empower and grow early stage devs. The non-profit focused on the following mission and principles: create opportunities for devs, grow learning resources for community, empower individuals and businesses, and build an exemplary, safe, and inclusive space. The meetup community offers the following programs for their members:
* Tampa devs public cloud
* Job board
* Mentorship program
* Workshops and educational opportunities
* Education through events
* Active slack community with over 1500 devs
* Hackathons
While seeding a great foundation, it’s also awesome to see that the non-profit Tampa Devs implemented good succession processes. It’s exciting to see the Tampa Devs continue to thrive reflecting the mission and values of their founders. Dave Ramsey would often say that organizations often take on the attributes of their founders. In this case, I think it’s beautiful that Vincent’s spirit lives on through the kindness and outreach of Tampa devs.
To learn more about the work of Tampa Devs, check out the following links:
* Tampa Devs
* https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/6f1c97f6-fdad-4b51-9bf4-528b301e6f68
Don’t settle; Make today count
Reflecting on some of Vincent’s recent social posts or blog posts, he continues to echo a theme of his life. If you don’t like something, do not wait. Make it happen. There are many who wonder if they can make the transition to become a developer like Vincent. There are many who are making hard life pivots or career changes. Vincent’s life example gives hope to many on a similar journey. In one of Vincent’s final LinkedIn posts, he left us a golden quote
“I have come to realize there is opportunity everywhere around us. It is just a matter of perspective and outlook on life. We live in our own bubbles at times, not aware of all the possibilities. We are afraid of losing our stability, our relationships, & our jobs. But inversely it’s when we are willing to stake it all on our principles, our beliefs – that’s where change happens the most. It’s also where we find out who we truly are. And we don’t shy away from it anymore. And that knowledge, that wisdom – is priceless”
Rest in peace Vincent.
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