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Congrats to our Winter Scholarship Winners

Albrey Brown

Congrats to our Winter Scholarship Winners's Image

After much deliberation and sorting through hundreds of applications, Hack Reactor and our dedicated advisory Board are pleased to announce the 3 newest recipients of Hack Reactor’s full tuition scholarship, and 3 recipients of the Hack Reactor x Facebook Scholarship.

The Board was impressed with their stories, passion, and drive on their journey toward changing their life through Hack Reactor.

Here are the stories about our winners. We can’t wait to see the great things these recipients will do with their Hack Reactor education!

Queenie Smith was born in Ottawa, Canada, and currently lives in Montreal. She studied linguistics at Concordia University and has always been passionate about the creative process, how we learn and solve problems. Before devoting herself full-time to coding,
Queenie worked in human resources and project administration. With encouragement from friends and family, Queenie decided to change career paths and dive head-first into the world of programming.

She’s eternally grateful for the opportunity to study at Hack Reactor and plans to use the platform to inspire underrepresented groups to consider a career in tech. In her free time, Queenie loves to research obscure foodstuffs and eat cake.

Harry Markley is originally from Phoenix, Arizona. He graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering. After working for a few years in software, he discovered his passion for development and the world of computer science. He is passionate about building software that facilitates the creation of connections - particularly authentic connections between people who otherwise would not have the opportunity to communicate. This challenge drives him to put in the best work possible, not only as an engineer, but also as a leader and a member of an underrepresented community. He is grateful for the opportunity this scholarship has granted him and cannot wait to be a part of the Hack Reactor network.

James Davidson was born in Juneau, Alaska but raised on the East Coast, due to constant moving from his mother being in the Coast Guard. Growing up he was considered the neighborhood tech support because he was always building computers and setting up home networks for his family and neighbors. Inspired by his mother doing 20 years in the Coast Guard, he decided to join the Air Force and became an Intelligence Analyst. He was medically retired after 9 years in the service. His passion for problem solving led him to studying Computer Science. He is excited to attend Hack Reactor and plans to use his skills to help other transitioning veterans find the resources they need to successfully start a civilian career.


Hailey Jane Bobella is a self-taught newcomer to coding with a diverse background. A New Jersey native, she attended New York University to study the intersection of linguistics, neuroscience, and philosophy. She is a guitarist, vocalist, classically-trained cellist, and composer, and performs regularly throughout her current home of Austin, Texas. She hopes to bring the skills she learns at Hack Reactor to both her volunteer work as an advocate for survivors of sexual assault and to the creation of organizational tools for the LGBTQ community, and looks forward to discovering new and exciting ways of uniting her love for music, games, and technology.

Kat is a transgender girl from a small rural town called Beloit, in the backwoods of Kansas (shout-out to B-Town). She's always been fascinated with all varieties of science and technology. She taught herself full-stack web development and Java programming, and she's interested in starting her own tech company. With the education she'll receive at Hack Reactor, she hopes to begin her career in web development and programming, and go on to make a big difference in the world.

Nyah Check, is a Software Engineer from Buea, Cameroon. He's a Computer Engineering graduate from the University of Buea and is passionate about Cloud Computing and Security. He's an avid open source enthusiast and an active contributor to the Docker, Kubernetes and Golang projects. He's passionate about technology and startups hoping to learn as much as possible from his personal experiences and other people.

Let's give these incredible winners a round of applause! We can't wait to see what things they accomplish during and after the Hack Reactor program.

You could be a Scholarship recipient too! The next application window is now open, so get ready by taking our Free Intro to JavaScript Course.

Read more about the $1.3 Million Dollar Hack Reactor Scholarship Fund and learn more tips from Albrey Brown on how to be a scholarship finalist.

The application window for the Hack Reactor Scholarship runs from December 23, 2017 until February 23, 2018. Best of luck and congratulations again to our most recent winners!

Big thanks to the Hack Reactor Advisory Board: Alexandra Cavoulacos, Co-founder of The Muse, Alaina Percival, CEO of Women Who Code, Tiffany Price, Community Engagement Manager at the Kapor Center for Social Impact, Dom Brassey, VP of Growth at Lesbians Who Tech and Albrey Brown, Founder of Telegraph Academy.

Learn more about Hack Reactor's full-time and part-time programs. We're in SF, Austin, NYC, LA and live online!