So, as you probably know, we are a non profit, tuition-free immersive course and we try to make a difference in San Diego Millennials lives by introducing them to the opportunities of the tech industry. But, to keep helping our community, we also need help from the community! That is why we are always looking for people interested in supporting our goals! On this current cohort we have been having the amazing help from Robert Schmalz, our Teacher Assistant.

Robert has 22 years of programming experience and after he retired from working with a big multinational, he decided to give back to his community, but in a way that he would still be in touch with what he loves to do, use his talent and also keeping himself up to date with the latest languages used in software development. He looked up coding bootcamps in the southern California area and was surprised to find that most of them were for-profit, “There are several "for-profit" code camps but I did not want to be part of a business enterprise with pressure for profits etc”. When he found out about SoftStack Factory, he knew it would be a perfect fit!

Robert got in contact with us and now he is a part of the SoftStack Factory daily life! He helps us as our Teacher Assistant, looking out for our students and our main Teacher, John, “our classroom is a collaborative team atmosphere which keeps it fun. I have filled in as the class leader/monitor a few times”, said Robert.

We are very happy to have Robert as a part of our team and extremely thankful for all his help! People like him and our amazing sponsors are helping us to keep SoftStack Factory up and running and creating amazing opportunities for San Diego Millennials.

We asked Robert to leave a message for those who think about volunteering or being a part of SSF:

“I highly encourage it.  There is something very freeing about being engaged in an effort that is not solely directed at generating income.  Also, it is very gratifying to help the next generation advance in their careers, just as people helped me when I was at the beginning of my career. You will find that SSF already has a proven track record of success. Just recently we held a reunion of sorts at a San Diego Padres baseball game.  As a newcomer I was impressed to see all the students who have passed through SSF and are now employed programmers return to say hello. So yes, it’s a great group.  Please join us! You will not regret doing so.

Do you want to be more involved in your community and help make a difference? We are always looking for motivated volunteers to help us run a cohort! If you are a retired software engineer, manager, leader, developer or just love the SSF idea, we can use your assistance!

http://www.softstackfactory.com/become-a-sponsor/