The Heart of Code Platoon: How Teaching Assistants Empower Veteran Coders

Code Platoon Teaching Assistants (TAs) do more than instruct; they mentor and guide Veteran and military spouse students, ensuring they receive personalized attention to excel in their coding bootcamp. TAs include early-career tech professionals, Veterans seeking to give back, current college students, and alumni, all of whom bring valuable expertise and support to facilitate a smooth tech transition for our graduates.

“Second only to the students, the TAs are the heart of Code Platoon,” says Adam Cahan, Program Manager at Code Platoon. “It’s a pleasure for us—the instructors, students, and other TAs—to work together in support of our mission.”

The TA role at Code Platoon is mutually beneficial, offering both assistants and students valuable opportunities for growth. In addition to helping the students with their code, the TAs get to develop vital professional skills for their future tech careers.

I’ve personally learned a lot coding-wise, but also in terms of leadership and communication skills,” says Rachel Snyder, Code Platoon TA and Computer Science student at Tufts University. “I now feel more than ready for my college CS classes in the fall.”

“Having completed Code Platoon’s Immersive program, I was familiar with the curriculum. However, my TA experience further refined my technical troubleshooting skills, deepened my problem-solving abilities, and sharpened my ability to ask the right questions to understand the code better,” says Tristan Zimmerman, a Marine Corps Veteran, Code Platoon alum, and former TA. “These skills have been essential now that I’m working as a software engineering apprentice at Cecilian Partners.” 

In Code Platoon’s flagship program, Full-stack Software Engineering, TAs lead teams of 5-8 students through a three-month coding journey, fostering the collaborative learning environment central to Code Platoon’s mission. This hands-on leadership is vital to fostering the unique, team-first learning environment that defines Code Platoon’s mission.

“My favorite part of being a TA is watching students progress and encouraging them along their journey. Seeing their growth from the first week to completing group projects is incredibly fulfilling,” says Rachel.

“When I TAed, I enjoyed being assigned my team of students to mentor,” says Tristan. “Over the weeks, I came to understand their skill levels in depth and build strong connections with them. It was an amazing experience that strengthened the cohort as a whole.”

“I love working with our TAs,” says Adam. “They are consistently a bright, motivated, energetic, and thoughtful group. It’s exciting to see them get into the cadence of the program and develop the sense of ownership and passion they have for our students every cohort.”

The influence of TAs extends throughout the Code Platoon community. By guiding students, supporting instructors, and continuously learning, TAs play a crucial role in our mission. They ensure each cohort graduates not only with technical skills but with a strong support network to carry into their future tech careers.