Tour of Lighthouse Labs TO
How I Became a Mentor at Lighthouse Labs Toronto
Lighthouse Labs is a bootcamp that can teach you to become a developer in 8 weeks. This post is about my interaction, tour and interview with them.
Head quartered in Vancouver and recently expanded to Toronto. I found Lighthouse interesting because of how well they stay connected and involved in the growth of their alumnus, for example, their website is built by their students; seemed like they practice what they preach.
Before I tell you about the interviews and the tour, a bit of background. I’m a tech entrepreneur with a passion for the intersection of technology, design and business. During the past two years, I developed a strong interest in building effective technology for the cause of reforming education.
In between consulting for startups and building my own product, ROOT Education. I wanted to set some time during the week and dedicate it to using my coding and UX architecture skills to help others in meaningful ways, ideally in the education space. That said, I decided to apply to Lighthouse as a Mentor, even though I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.
The First Interaction
I get an introductory email from Kate, a learning specialist at Lighthouse to start the conversation. We set a time for the first interview.
During the interview, Kate struck me as someone with a welcoming personality, and a life-long learner with a respectful demeanor.
Kate is the person who decides if I get another interview with one of the co-founders of the organization.
I wanted to give a great impression, her approach made it easy, I would imagine similar approaches are followed with learners during bootcamps; something I believe to be essential for a successful learning environment.
The Second Interview
Khurram is the co-founder of Lighthouse and Functional Imperative. He would be the person to decide if I move forward with Lighthouse.
Initially, I thought it would be a 20 minute, quick get to know you chat or perhaps a super technical call; I was completely wrong.
Aside from the get-to-know you and the technical questions, Khurram and I seem to share common perspectives on education and learning which I was happy about.
He comes of as someone with a humble and authentic character, both of which are aspects I admire in people.
Towards the end of the call, I got the green light from Khurram to join Lighthouse as a Mentor for the Web Development bootcamp! The next steps where to get a tour of the Toronto chapter.
The Tour
Lighthouse has partnered with HighlineVC, Canada’s leading VC-backed accelerator, to kickstart the Toronto chapter. I went for the tour and Kate showed me the learning space, a large open concept room which seemed more like a startup than a classroom (much better that way), learners hacking away at code and asking instructors / mentors for help when needed.
Truth be told, I’m really looking forward to getting started next week and becoming a part of what seems like a great community of bright and fun people!
