When I came across an AI fellowship program a few weeks ago, I felt that specific kind of excitement that tells you something is worth pursuing. The curriculum was broad, well-structured, and mapped directly onto skills I knew would be valuable — for my own projects, and noticed at my day job.
I filled out the interest form. Then I waited.
Four weeks of silence
Four weeks passed with no response. I followed up directly with someone on the program team. Still nothing. At some point, you have to read the room.
I had two options. Move on and file it under missed opportunities. Or go back to that website and look at the curriculum one more time.
I chose the second one.
The opportunity I wanted wasn't going to come through that door. So I looked for another way in.
What I did instead
I took a screenshot of the curriculum page and brought it into Claude. I explained exactly what had happened — applied, didn't hear back, still wanted to learn these skills. Then I asked for something specific: look at these eight pillars and build me a learning project around them. Not a reading list. Not a course outline. An actual project I would build with my hands, that would require me to learn each part of the curriculum as I went.
What came back was better structured than I expected. A twelve-week self-directed learning plan, paced around the time I actually have available each week. Real milestones. A GitHub repo. Something to ship at the end.
I already created the repo this week and started work.
The detail that made it stick
This is the part I want you to pay attention to.
I asked Claude to tie the project directly to Dascet — my financial tools brand. Whatever I build through this learning project will eventually be absorbed into the product and used by real people.
That one decision changed the stakes entirely. I'm not learning for a certificate I won't receive or a program that didn't accept me. I'm learning because the output will matter to something I care about. The skills I gain and the thing I build are the same investment.
Field notes: how to build your own curriculum
- Find the syllabus. Most programs, bootcamps, and fellowships post their curriculum publicly. That document represents what experts believe you need to know. It's your starting point — and it's already free.
- Turn it into a project, not a reading list. Reading without building fades fast. Ask yourself: what could I make that would require me to learn each of these things? A project with a real output keeps you accountable in a way that notes and passive consumption never will.
- Tie it to something you care about. If the project connects to a business you're building, a problem you want to solve, or a person you want to help — you will finish it. Generic exercises are easy to abandon. Meaningful ones aren't.
- Use AI to fill the gaps. You don't need a teacher or a program to structure your learning. Feed the curriculum into Claude, tell it how much time you have each week, and ask it to build a learning plan that produces something real at the end.
- Start before you feel ready. I created the repo before I felt confident. The repo exists so I have something to show up to next week.
If you want to go deeper on working with AI as a thinking and learning partner, I've been reading Co-Intelligence by Ethan Mollick — it's the most practical book I've come across on using AI as a real collaborator, not just a tool. Worth picking up: Co-Intelligence by Ethan Mollick
The reminder
As women, we sometimes wait for someone else to open the door — a fellowship, a program, an invitation, a permission slip. And sometimes those things come through.
But sometimes they don't.
The curriculum was always on the website. The knowledge was always accessible. The only thing that changed was my decision to stop waiting for someone to hand it to me.
Nobody gave me a seat in that fellowship. I made my own.
The opportunities that shape us are often the ones we create when the official ones fall through. Only you know exactly what you need. Only you can decide how you get there.
If there's a door that isn't opening for you right now — go find the curriculum. It's probably already out there.
That's this week's entry. If this resonated, go find the curriculum for something you've been waiting on. It's probably already out there.
Until next time,
In the margins · Let's chat
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