Finding Mentors

We recommend you do not actively seek to recruit mentors; there are usually a surplus of interested individuals, so any time you spend could be better used elsewhere. A slight exception is that you should always ask sponsors if they want to bring any mentors.

When someone expresses interest in becoming a mentor, you should evaluate their:

• Maturity: In our experience, many younger mentors behave unprofessionally at events.
• Experience Level: Mentors should be generally experienced enough to solve problems in languages or frameworks they haven’t used.
• Ability to Teach: Mentors are expected to teach students, which means asking questions and helping students understand key concepts, not just directly answer questions.
• Tech-Curmudgeon Tendencies: Mentors getting into arguments with students about which programming language is best is neither friendly nor supportive.

Mentors are expected to commit to at least a two-hour shift sometime on Saturday. You can find more information on getting mentors signed up in the “Mentor Management” section.

Finding Judges

You can often build a panel of judges within a week or two by emailing past contacts, even those who weren’t able to help. You can use the following email as a template when getting in touch:

Hi [name], Would you have any interest in being a judge for this upcoming CodeDay, on Sunday, [date of judging] from 9 am-noon? It’s pretty low-pressure, you’ll get to try the apps/games students made, watch some short presentations, and then give out a few awards. (No prizes, so it’s pretty low-pressure.) I can send over more information; does that sound at all interesting?

Once someone agrees to judge, you can send them the following sheet with more information: http://assets.srnd.org/codeday/judges.pdf (Physical copies for day-of are included in your CodeDay supplies.)