Mallika founded TechSmart Academy to fulfill her mission of wanting to create a place where kids could learn how to code the fun way. She was inspired by how much her two boys loved Minecraft and continues to be in awe of their urge of wanting to learn how to code, She firmly believes that it is not what is taught, but how it is taught that makes a world of difference. Mallika has worked as associate faculty, as a software developer at various companies and as a management consultant at a big 5 firm. A true entrepreneur at heart, she also runs a successful dance fitness franchise and was a high performing salesperson in the financial industry. She has a Master's degree in Computer Science from Kansas State University. Her favorite moment at camp was when a child was asked what he thought could be improved at camp, and he responded with: "Null." ("Null" in a programming language implies Undefined/nothing!:))
Sammy
Instructor
Sammy played video games as a child and loves tweaking them as an adult. His greatest joy is seeing that twinkle in kids' eyes when they change a line of code and it creates an explosion in Minecraft. His motto is to teach kids by not giving them answers, but by asking them leading questions..and ultimately teaching them the ability to figure things out themselves. He has a degree in Computer Science and works as a robotics instructor during the school year.
Bhuvana
Instructor
Bhuvana loves working with children, is a great speaker and strongly believes in being patient with kids, but challenging them at the same time. She has earned 5 star reviews from several parents for her commitment to teaching. She has worked as a software engineer and as a coding and chess instructor for many years. She has a Master's degree in Computer Science.
Shayan
Instructor
Shayan is passionate about programming and has extensive experience teaching and working with children at camp. He has tutored kids in Java, Python and Minecraft modding. He has earned a reputation of not only being there to help kids out with coding, but also being a great athlete to shoot hoops with during breaks on the basketball courts. Shayan has worked as a camp instructor at a Science camp in Ecuador and has coached soccer with AYSO. He is currently working towards a Computer Science degree at UC Davis.
Catherine
Instructor
Catherine's love of programming was born when she recreated a popular mobile game for two players. She has worked at multiple summer camps supervising higher elementary and middle school kids, right from her high school years at Lynbrook High. She firmly believes that a wholesome education entails learning as well as spreading knowledge through teaching. She aims to empower children through the art of coding, At camp, she is known as one that never lets kids give up and makes sure they try again if things don't work the first time. Catherine is currently working towards a Computer Science degree at UC Irvine.
Jakob
Curriculum Developer
Jakob is an independent game developer with several years of experience in Unity, Stencyl, MonoGame and C#. He is adept at developing engaging, visually stimulating games for kids and creating curriculum in such a way that game design concepts are introduced in a step-by-step manner, so as to not overwhelm the kids. In addition, he has years of experience programming in traditional languages such as Java, C++ and XML.
Frank
Assistant Instructor
Frank is one to arrive at camp well before it begins to prepare to help kids out, and one to leave camp well after it ends, only after making sure no one needs his help anymore. He is popular with kids for his sense of humor, his laid back attitude and for being the guy they can always call out to. His Python programming skills earned him several accolades during his high school years at Lynbrook High School. He has tutored kids in Math and is a well versed musician. He is working towards a Computer Science degree at UC Berkeley.
