1. 21 January 2015
To Whom It May Concern:
As a teacher at Dev Bootcamp; which is an intense, immersive, web development program;
I have the pleasure of working with students that are strong, smart, emotionally intelligent,
world class beginners that leave the program ready to contribute as they learn on the job.
Shakrah embodied all of these qualities and stood out with many individual qualities as well.
I first met Shakrah on day one when I give my traditional greeting to our incoming students;
telling them their lives as they know it will be over for 9 weeks and that they should be
prepared to confused and exhausted and learn more than they ever have before. Upon
hearing this, Shakrah’s voice rose over the mummers of the crowd. “Why should we be
scared?” she declared, stepping forward to the front of the group “ we can do this!” That
confident, joyous approach to learning stayed with her through the long weeks ahead as she
learned to code, to lead and to stretch into her learning.
As Shakrah’s teacher at Dev Bootcamp, I was able to watch her grow through learning to
code but also through her ability to be present and aware of others experiences. In our weekly
check­in group, she regularly shared her excitement about learning and solving problems,
independently and in groups. She was actively engaged in the engineering empathy program
and built on skills that she had from previous leadership training and personal growth and
communication workshops.
Shakrah often voiced her concerns about being a good pair and expressed that she got great
value from embracing others approaches to problem solving and work styles. She is
considerate and self aware, and a vocal advocate for an environment where students diversity
is supported. After completing the first phase of the program, she volunteered as a peer
mentor to new students to further foster this environment.
Shakrah started Dev Bootcamp with zero programming experience and successfully
contributed to an excellent final project. She has developed a foundational knowledge of
full­stack programming and is currently looking for a company wonderful enough to have her.
Although relatively new to the field of software development, I can tell from her past
accomplishments, marked enthusiasm, and current astute grasp of the higher­level concepts
of programming, Shakrah will very quickly grow into a talented fully­fledged engineer.
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Dr, Anne Spalding – SF Director
DevBootcamp http://devbootcamp.com
anne@devbootcamp