Meet the Education Team at Hackbright
Meggie Mahnken
Vice President of Education
Meggie Mahnken is the Vice President of Education at Hackbright Academy. A Hackbright alumna, Meggie became an internal tools software engineer after graduation, eventually returning to Hackbright as an instructor. She is now responsible for hiring and training the education staff, overseeing curriculum development, and serves on Hackbright’s Leadership Team.
How did you learn about Hackbright? What drew you to Hackbright?
A friend at the time worked nearby, and recommended software engineering to me as a career he thought I would enjoy. He was right! I was drawn to Hackbright because it was a supportive and accommodating space for women.
What’s your favorite Hackbright memory?
My favorite Hackbright memory is giving a lecture on jQuery early on in my teaching career here. jQuery was something that was really hard for me to learn, so I was so excited to be able to help others not get stuck on the things I got stuck on.
What’s your top advice for new students?
Stay focused. Pick one language and master the basics. Remember to code every single day – muscle memory is key.
What’s your favorite teaching moment?
My favorite teaching moment is when students are in the advanced phases of their final projects, and they think of a feature that they’d like to build and bring it to fruition completely independently. When new software engineers realize that literally anything is possible, it’s an incredibly inspiring and meaningful moment of empowerment.
What do you love most about coding?
I love that it’s such a relevant creative skill. I also love debugging – the language and tone of error messages is fascinating. It’s also incredibly satisfying to build things. It’s addicting.
What else should we know about you?
I started doing ballet as an adult about four years ago. I’ve come a long way and learned a ton. There are a lot of parallels between learning to code and learning ballet. For me, going to ballet class is a consistent reminder of what it feels like to be a student, and how to be an excellent teacher. I have a few really amazing ballet teachers who are a great inspiration.
Ashley Trinh
Director | Hackbright Software Engineering Program
A Hackbright alumna, Ashley studied Interdisciplinary Computing in the arts and Music at UCSD where she focused on user experience research and design.
What drew you to Hackbright?
When I was planning to attend bootcamp, I applied to several and had a handful to choose from, so it came down to culture and values. To be honest, I decided to base my decision on how many times the word “community” appeared on each bootcamp’s landing page. That’s how I chose Hackbright.
What’s your favorite Hackbright memory?
When I was going through the Software Engineering Program, I kept thinking about different ways to explain programming concepts to my cohort-mates. That’s when I found out that I love teaching. I’m really thankful for that moment; Hackbright helped me realize two passions (programming AND teaching)!
What’s your top advice for new students?
Figure out your learning style. I know, I know… it’s a really big question and it’s not that easy to answer. A good way to start is to think about how you tend to engage with a topic or activity that you’re passionate about and translate that into a learning strategy. Reach out to your instructors if you need help! That’s what we’re here for.
What’s your favorite moment as a teacher?
I like hearing how students teach one another. Peer education and knowledge sharing is awesome!
What do you love most about coding?
Computers do exactly what you tell them to do. Even if you think you have no idea what the computer is doing, it’s still doing exactly what you told it to.
Any fun facts you want to share?
I really like fine art. Especially modern and contemporary art! My favorite artists are Jenny Holzer, Barbara Kruger, and Cindy Sherman.
Anything else you want to share??
Ask me about my terminal color schemes.
Jared Bitz
Software Engineering Instructor
Jared is a former high school teacher who is passionate about increasing the availability and accessibility of education in all areas of STEM, especially math and computer science.
How did you learn about Hackbright? What drew you to Hackbright?
A coworker from my high school teaching days had left to teach at Hackbright—when I left the following year, she encouraged me to apply. I was drawn to Hackbright’s student-centered, hands-on approach to teaching software engineering, and the opportunity to work with many students who, like me, were trying to change their lives for the better with a new career.
What’s your favorite Hackbright memory?
Any number of lectures where I’ve gotten to teach about something which I’m very passionate about, then had that passion come right back at me from a room full of interested and engaged students.
What’s your top advice for new students?
We’re all human beings before we’re software engineers. Treat your classmates and especially yourself with grace when you get tired, make mistakes, or have life get in the way. You don’t have to be perfect to be successful!
What’s your favorite teaching moment?
Demo day for each cohort—as a teacher, there’s nothing better than seeing students take ownership of what they’ve learned and use it to make something useful, relevant, and meaningful to them.
What do you love most about coding?
When a seemingly intractable problem turns out to be solvable with very simple and efficient code, usually by a clever change of perspective. Bonus points if there’s interesting math behind why the algorithm works.
What else should we know about you?
I’m also a huge nerd about (among other things) Star Trek, classical music, and science history.
Trew Boisvert
Instructor
Trew is a full-time instructor who graduated from Hackbright Academy in March 2021. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Trew transitioned from fashion to tech, and is enjoying the opportunity to engage zir design sensibilities in a completely different way. When ze isn’t coding, Trew can be found drinking all manner of tea, teaching self-defense, and playing various TTRPGs with friends, including, but not limited to, Dungeons and Dragons.
How did you learn about Hackbright? What drew you to Hackbright?
I learned about Hackbright from doing my own research on tech bootcamps. I chose Hackbright because of the reputation of the school, and the pace of the course.
What’s your favorite Hackbright memory?
There are too many to choose from!
What’s your top advice for new students?
Popcorn is an excellent snack to have while in lecture, and make sure to ask for help from staff. That’s what we’re here for!
What’s your favorite teaching moment?
My favorite kind of teaching moment is seeing my students smile and nod when a new concept finally clicks for them.
What do you love most about coding?
I can work from home and hang out with my cats all day.
What else should we know about you?
I’m trying to grow an entirely edible garden, but my poor tomatoes are struggling
Kris Casey
Hackbright Prep Instructor
I went to school for Chemical Engineering, but fell in love with coding after moving to San Francisco. I’m so glad I get to share that joy with others.
How did you learn about Hackbright? What drew you to Hackbright?
I learned about Hackbright when I was looking for a Software Engineering bootcamp to attend. I love that their goal is to change the ratio in tech.
What’s your favorite Hackbright memory?
Anytime I got my code to work and really understood why.
What’s your top advice for new students?
Ask lots of questions and practice a lot.
What’s your favorite teaching moment?
Whenever a student responds with something like “that’s so cool!”
What do you love most about coding?
Whenever a student responds with something like “that’s so cool!”
Becky Garding
Instructor
Becky has a degree in business from BYU-Idaho and executed a career change to tech in 2021. She lives in Utah with her Bernese Mountain Dog, Pennywise.
How did you learn about Hackbright? What drew you to Hackbright?
I found Hackbright in a blog of well-rated bootcamps when I was considering a career transition. It was well rated, the timing worked out around some humanitarian work I had planned, and finding an inclusive space was also great. We need to diversify the tech industry.
What’s your top advice for new students?
Learning new things is hard, but so worth it. Leaning can, at times, be frustrating or tiring, but don’t give up! The reward of learning a new skill is so great and fulfilling.
What do you love most about coding?
Being able to build something out of nothing is a great feeling, you can see fairly fast results to your work, and you can go as far as your imagination will take you.
Aubrey Sanders
Part-Time Mentor/TA Bootcamps
Aubrey: Marine Biologist and Animal Behaviorist, jumping into the world of coding! Began my software engineer journey with Hackbright as a student in the PT program in 2021. Then was welcomed back as a TA in 2022 for the same part-time program. Currently run a dog training business by day, and TA at Hackbright by evenings.
How did you learn about Hackbright? What drew you to Hackbright?
I did some research on remote coding bootcamps as it was something I was interested in pursuing, and Hackbright was a top contender because of the wonderful mission. It helped that a friend had already attended/graduated and highly recommended.
What’s your favorite Hackbright memory?
My favorite memories were from me time as a student and connecting with my classmates in person (I even traveled to Berlin with one of my classmates!)
What’s your top advice for new students?
Don’t be afraid to ask ALL the questions (even ones that you think may be “silly”) and PLEASE put them in the public questions channel of your classroom discord. It encourages other students to do the same, and many times other students have the same questions but may be afraid to ask. You can help each other by asking questions that everyone would benefit the answer from—Teamwork makes the Dreamwork!
What’s your favorite teaching moment?
When I get a question I don’t know the answer to, and the student and I research together to find the answer.
What do you love most about coding?
It feels a lot like puzzle solving—and I really like puzzles.
What else should we know about you?
I have a lot of interests and it’s really hard to stick to just one for long. For right now, it’s been coding, but who knows what the future will bring—I may want to be on Top Chef or an Interior Designer next! 😛
Steve Chait
Instructor
Back and forth from coding (CS degree), to teaching (GED math), to coding (software engineer), to now teaching coding.
How did you learn about Hackbright? What drew you to Hackbright?
I found Hackbright on a LinkedIn job posting. But I also had worked with a Hackbright grad in a previous software engineering job.
What’s your favorite Hackbright memory?
Watching all my SERFT15 advisees crush it on the hardest whiteboarding problem set.
What’s your top advice for new students?
Ask questions! And don’t be afraid to be wrong. You learn WAY more from trying things and making mistakes than you do from lectures or reading.
What’s your favorite teaching moment?
Giving the AJAX lecture (one of the harder ones) for the first time, and coming up with a laundry analogy to explain asynchronous code.
What do you love most about coding?
Data structures and algorithms! Or pretty much anything involving recursion or applied math.
What else should we know about you?
I’m a drummer and I’ve released three albums with various bands. I’ve also climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Fuji.
LaRena Iocco
Prep Instructor, Backend Software Engineer
LaRena is a professional circus clown turned software engineer. She toured the U.S, Mexico and Japan with various circuses before moving to New York City. During the pandemic, she attended Hackbright as a student and now works full time at a fintech start up in addition to sharing her passion for code as an instructor here at Hackbright
How did you learn about Hackbright? What drew you to Hackbright?
A friend of mine from theater, Chloe Condon, attended Hackbright a few years before me so I knew a little about the program from her. Hackbright’s mission of changing the ratio and educating underrepresented people drew me in.
What’s your favorite Hackbright memory?
When I successfully deployed my final project!
What’s your top advice for new students?
Practice a little bit EVERY DAY! Even when you are tired or want a break. Even if you just look at code for 5 minutes and solve one tiny thing, do a little bit every day.
What’s your favorite teaching moment?
Seeing my students tackle their final projects and get excited about what they accomplished. I never get tired of it!
What do you love most about coding?
I love that there are so many different ways to solve a problem! Before I started coding, it never occurred to me how creative it is! Seeing all the ways that people attack the same problem always intrigues me.