Mentor

Professor Andy Ko

Throughout my experience with computing I only had two mentors. Professor Ko was my Web Design teacher last summer at UW Upward Bound and the second person to teach me coding.

Professor Ko was very open, friendly and understanding throughout the Web Design class. His help predominately came in the classroom setting, although there was also the option to email him for help.

During that summer, I asked Professor Ko for help almost everyday on my website. Whether it be checking in on my coding to see where I messed up on, telling me about a feature of HTML or CSS that could help improve my content or teaching our class Javascript, his help was invaluable that summer.

Javascript in particular was difficult to understand so having him explain each problem to me really helped prepare me for the final for Web Design.

Professor Ko's Important Qualities

As I've stated earlier, Professor Ko was available to help us during class. However it was how he helped us that was most important to me.

No offense to Mr. Lassana, (my Web Design teacher in 9th grade Summer) but Professor Ko was more helpful because he interacted with us. Unlike the former, Professor Ko look through the coding of my site beside me, rather than doing so through email. Explaining concepts is easier when it's face-to-face.

This type of interaction with students is something that teachers in high school do over college professors, who overly rely on emails and don't bother to directly teach their students. So I'm grateful that Professor Ko for his style of teaching that summer.

Impact of Professor Ko's Class

9th grade summer's Web Design class left me unsure in my coding capabilities and disappointed in myself. On the other hand, 10th grade summer's Web Design class helped me understand the role of coding in life, as well as reaffirm my self-confidence.

I left Professor's Ko's class with more understanding on the concept of coding and though I may not be good at it, my interest in coding was also renewed. Thanks in large part to Professor Ko's teachings, I once again believed that even someone like me can excel at coding with enough practice. This would lead me to take Career Exploration/Web Design this summer as well.

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