Instructor stories: Alex marathon runner.

As educators first it's vitally important at codetoday that our instructors are great teachers and coders but above all able to transfer their enthusiasm for coding to their students. This week meet Alex, our marathon running instructor.

Alex is rather a maverick, moving to London from Jersey aged 18 having never been to any other part of the U.K. before. Graduating from UCL in 2013 with a first class honours degree in Computer Science, Alex immediately started work as a Software Developer. Whilst working she also volunteered for St John Ambulance and trained up to a PTA (patient transport attendant) answering blue light calls as a third crew member. Alex's volunteering hasn't stopped there: she has worked as a medic for an alcohol and injury recovery centre in Clapham on Friday and Saturday nights from 11pm-6am for around a year.

This work and her time with St John Ambulance prompted her to pursue a career in medicine, and after a year in her Software Developer job, she went back to University to study Graduate Entry Medicine (a 4 year intensive medical training programme as opposed to the normal 5-6 years). Unfortunately due to ill health she had to leave the course and rejoined her old company back in her old job.

What Alex missed was interacting with people, and children are effectively just tiny humans!

During her A-levels Alex had already co-founded a tutoring company, as part of the young enterprise scheme in Jersey, where she taught maths and science at Key stage 1 and 2.

With this experience in tutoring she found her way to Stephen and codetoday, and has been part of the team since November 2018. Alex teaches around 4-5 groups a week, sometimes 6. As well as her own private tutoring clients at degree level.

Join a summer course led by instructors like Alex this summer.

Alex loves as challenge as you can see from the picture of her bungee jumping and she's decided to run the London Marathon in 2020. This will be her first marathon but she's starting her training early so we're expecting a good time!

Alex is running for the NSPCC because they are the only charity in the UK aiming to prevent child abuse and they are also a charity that supported her when she was not much older than some of her youngest students.

You can support Alex on her just giving page here:

https://justgiving.com/fundraising/alexandra-browne