fbpx
lead instructor biggs

Persevere Instructor Spotlight: Meet Lead Instructor Biggs

Our greatest asset is our staff. Particularly our instructors who are helping our folks gain valuable skills in coding. Not only are they top notch, but they are pretty amazing humans as well. Check out the Instructor Spotlight series to get to know them.


Name
: Noah Biggs

What Location do you teach at and for how long?
I teach remotely at Red Rock Correctional facility in Eloy, AZ, and I’ve been with Persevere for approx. 1 year and 4 months.

Where are you from originally?
I am from and currently live in the greater Chicago-land area.

Where did you learn coding?
I’ve been interacting directly with plaintext code since a young kid, but never anything beyond script-kiddie level activities – until I was old enough to learn HTML via MySpace (Thanks Tom!), which was the beginning of my development journey. All these years later and I’ve continued that journey, attending Coding Dojo in Chicago to formalize my knowledge with a certificate, and since then have been completing OSSU (Open Source Society University) undergrade Computer Science degree, to fill the knowledge gaps independently & open-source.

What is your favorite thing about coding?
The entire engineering experience is my favorite part of coding. Coding is just the act of writing computer code, but programming – solving real-world problems with computer science and code – is my favorite part.

What is the hardest thing about coding?
I think for most, the hardest part of coding is trying to fully understand what tools you have available to you, and how to approach/breakdown a problem, with said tools, in a methodical way to achieve goal after goal, that slowly brings you closer to your desired & particular outcome.

What do you enjoy most about teaching?
For me, the best part about teaching is watching students connect the dots and not only grow into proficient developers in front of your eyes, but helping them cultivate and grow this new-found passion as it relates to code, development, tech, or anything else is really the most rewarding part.

Tell us about a project you worked on that you are especially proud of.
I think the project I am most proud of was one I contributed the least of all my code-based endeavors. It was a crypto project that I assisted with a large percentage of the Frontend development on. The platform was a multi-asset peer-to-peer marketplace, with a focus on facilitating large value exchanges with a “lock-up” period, allowing for no market impact/slippage on large trades, no potential volatility during lockup, and no instant or guaranteed finality.
 
Of all the projects I’ve worked on, this one was the most special to me as it actually had utility. Real people in the real world used and are using this product, and moving real value through the code we created. The real-world utility is fundamental for me to be committed/interested.
 
What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
When not on the computer, I enjoy playing video games, learning new productive skills or trades, and what takes up most of my free time: throttle therapy – buying/selling & riding/repairing motorcycles 🙂
 
Do you have any pets?
Yes, I have a tabby cat named Cocona
 
Favorite Movie or Show.
Who Is America? by Sacha Baron Cohen
Skip to content