Last year, I taught a 10-week .NET/C# Full Stack Web Development bootcamp in New York City (Astoria, Queens). This last Monday (1/27), I attended my students’ graduation from the education/training part of the program provided by Workforce Opportunity Services (WOS) and their client PSEG. Graduation was an opportunity for me to reflect back on my experience.
The Bootcamp
The curriculum for the bootcamp covered a lot of ground. Week “0” of the bootcamp, taught by fellow App Academy instructor Alvin Zablan, introduced the students to Git, HTML, and CSS. I then took over as the instructor for the next 10 weeks. We started with an introduction to C# and .NET, followed by no fewer than three ASP.NET web frameworks (Web Forms, MVC, and Web API). We also covered essential topics such as security, SQL Server, Entity Framework, React, and of course, JavaScript.
Each week of the bootcamp had the students working on projects as a way to reinforce their learning. Some projects were shorter projects that could be completed in about a day, while other projects were longer (2-3 days), that required the students to apply all of their learning up to that point. Students created pull requests in GitHub for all of their projects, to model real-life development work as closely as possible and to give me a way to provide detailed feedback on their code.
The students also received weekly personal and interpersonal skills training, taught by Addie Rimmer from WOS, that prepared the students for working in a professional business environment. This is just one example of the work that WOS did to that made this bootcamp a unique experience for all involved.
Every day presented new challenges, but the work was some of the most rewarding that I’ve ever done in my career. Having 10 weeks to work closely with my students gave me an opportunity to understand how best to help each of them as they worked their way through an intense amount of content.
I’m thankful for App Academy for giving me the opportunity to be involved in such a unique experience. Helping to create the curriculum for and teaching an in-person bootcamp was the perfect segue from my time spent at Treehouse. Curtis Schlak and Mike Rudinsky extended me a tremendous amount of trust right from the beginning and were always there to support me when I needed it.
Workforce Opportunity Services (WOS)
My students were one of three cohorts that were part of WOS’s Talent Acquisition Pipeline (TAP) program. Through the TAP program, WOS provides individuals with the technical and interpersonal skills training that they need to prepare for careers at companies such as PSEG, who was the sponsor for these particular cohorts. You can learn more about the important work that WOS is doing here.
None of this would’ve been possible without the amazing work of everyone at WOS. A representative from WOS was in the classroom every day, supporting the students and myself, ensuring that we had what we needed to be successful. I also appreciated how the talented folks from WOS helped to make me feel welcomed as I acclimated both to the class and to the NYC area.
My Students
Lastly, I’m thankful for my wonderful students. We all learned a lot together and had a good time along the way. Congrats to John Vera, Jason Lu, Mohammed Salam, Sarthak Thakur, and William Lawlor for graduating from the program and good luck with all of your future endeavors!
