Member Spotlight: General Assembly’s Annie Lin

Annie Lin is the Regional Director for the Chicago chapter of General Assembly. In other words, she is the multiple hat wearing face of GA Chicago that ensures that the organization runs as smoothly as possible. We recently had the opportunity to ask Annie some questions about what makes General Assembly unique, what she likes about being a SPACE tenant, and her preferred sci-fi series.

Enjoy!

Who are you?

I’m Annie Lin and I’m the Regional Director at General Assembly. We are a global network of campuses offering events, workshops, and courses on design, tech, and business topics. We do everything from a “Day in the Life of a Product Manager” panel to a 2-hour “Introduction to UX Design” workshop to a 10-week Data Analytics part-time course to a 12-week Web Development Immersive full-time program, and everything in between!

Why led you to start working with General Assembly?

I was looking for an organization that combined an education-focused mission with a startup mentality, that has a strong offline focus (I think too many “ed tech” companies have gone too far online). General Assembly was and is clearly the front-runner at that intersection.

What differentiates GA from other tech education organizations?

So many things. If I have to pick my top three, they would be: (1) Not only are all our instructors experienced industry professionals who have up-to-date and first-hand knowledge of the soft and hard skillsets necessary to succeed in the industry today, but we also train and coach them on teaching best practices to make sure that the quality of instruction is exceptional. (2) We are a global network with students, alumni, staff, and hiring partners across more than 14 cities worldwide, and once someone joins our community in one city, they will have access to support and connections across all our locations. (3) We offer education and opportunities across a diverse array of tech, design, and business topics — from web development to digital marketing to product management to user experience design to data analytics to other fields — because we know that what it takes to succeed today is both depth in a particular field as well as breadth of knowledge across functions (e.g. you can’t be a good web developer today if you are clueless about design and product).

What is the most rewarding thing about your job?

I have worked for many mission-driven organizations, but GA tops that list in terms of how much tangible, literally live-changing impact I can see us having every single day. Working here is signing up for warm-and-fuzziness overload. Everyday, we take people who thought they had hit a dead end in their career, who no longer found meaning or joy in their work, who thought they did not have the skills to level up, or who lacked the opportunities to advance financially or socially — and we give them the skills, the guidance, the networks, the connections, and the confidence to level up, fulfill their real potential, and change their lives for the better in a very short amount of time. I often get teary-eyed at our student graduations because the transformation between Day 1 and graduation is so absolutely incredible.

What is your hope for the future of GA?

In a year from now, I’d like for everyone in Chicago to have at least one 1st-degree connection who has participated in the GA community in some way — whether as a student, an instructor, an event attendee, or an email subscriber in general.

What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned outside the classroom?

One of the GA work values that I identify most closely with is “Start with Yes.” This is a personal value of mine that has given me some amazing and often unexpected opportunities throughout my life. Staying open to new ideas and new challenges — including ones that are scary, untested, even risky — has helped me grow a ton.

What do you like about being a SPACE tenant?

SPACE feels like home! I love the coffee shop and community vibe of the place, and I love that our students have access to diverse breakout spaces that encourage collaboration and hands-on learning.

Bonus Round!

Hometown?

Tainan, Taiwan

Favorite Movie?

The Dark Knight

Favorite Quote?

“Where you stand depends on where you sit.”

True Love or $10,000,000

True Love

Fly or Read Minds

Read Minds

Harry Potter or Twilight

Hunger Games

Star Trek or Star Wars

Battlestar Galactica