David Stephenson

Working with David has been transformative for my programming journey. As someone learning to code independently, I've experienced firsthand how emotionally challenging programming can be - the frustration, ambiguity, and overwhelm that rarely gets discussed. What makes David exceptional is his level of feedback. Where okay feedback simply tells you if something worked or not, and good feedback explains what went wrong, David consistently provides great feedback - telling me what went wrong AND how to fix it. This has accelerated my learning tremendously. The progress I've made under his guidance is remarkable. In just one week, I've made unbelievable strides in understanding full-stack applications, advancing at a pace I never thought possible on my own. David truly focuses on what you need to do to achieve your goals rather than just making you comfortable. He understands that growth happens when you step outside your comfort zone, and gently guides you there. His knowledge and teaching ability make you feel confident stepping into the discomfort of growth because you know he will shine light on exactly what you need to do to get through it. His emotional intelligence has been invaluable in helping me reframe struggles into opportunities for learning. His 'teaching through doing' methodology perfectly suits programming's craft nature. Rather than focusing on theory alone, we work through real problems together. By directing focus to the highest leverage tasks, David creates what feels like a true shortcut through the noise of learning programming. Seriously, he is such a genuine person, and anyone and their moms would benefit tremendously from working with him. The only thing I don't like is that I did not find him sooner!