The MC Byte

The Mastery Coding team is chock-full of talented coders and programmers.
Meet our team of computer science specialists!

Introducing…

Juan F. Erazo, V.P. of Product

What he does for Mastery Coding: Manages engineering and curriculum projects.

Specialty:

JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. He also has expertise in C# and C++ for game development with engines like Unity and Unreal.

Hobbies: Chess, video games, rock climbing, & sword fighting.

Fun Fact: Juan loves playing Dungeons and Dragons!

What Inspired Him to Code?

“I always thought programming was something I couldn’t do, because I wasn’t very good at math. But when I was in high school, I found resources that taught coding for free. I looked into the course and saw that it was actually something that I could do without a strong math/science background. As I went through the courses, I realized that it could be a tool to apply math and science. Suddenly, math and science became interesting, because I realized it could make my code better.”

— Juan F. Erazo

Omar Sagoo, Back-End Engineer

What he does for Mastery Coding:

Maintains and contributes to server and database infrastructure for MC software projects.

Specialty:

Golang, JavaScript, and Rust. He is an expert at data storage and server code.

Hobbies: Rock climbing, coding, playing video games, playing chess, and hiking.

Fun Fact: Omar was named after Omar Khayyam: a famous mathematician, philosopher, astronomer, and poet.

What Inspired Him to Code?

“It all started when I created a simple piece of code that made several LEDs on a breadboard connected to an Arduino light up in a sequence I determined. I felt like a wizard!

Even though code already affects the world greatly, we’re still at such a young stage. With imagination, grit, and hard work anyone can create almost anything! I imagine a future where computers are so deeply embedded in our environment and our perception that someone who can understand and manipulate them will not only feel like a wizard, they will be modern day masters of the arcane. The next steps of human evolution are quickly unfolding in front of us.”

— Omar Sagoo

Jose Martinez, Front-End Developer

What he does for Mastery Coding:

Works on the client side of Mastery Coding’s website and tools.

Specialty:

Jose is highly skilled in both JavaScript and React. He uses React to help us create Single Page Applications and manage the state of our application.

Hobbies: Powerlifting, playing video games, hanging with his doggos, and finding good food.

Fun Fact: Jose has driven cross country 5 times. That’s over 11,000 miles of travel!

What Inspired Him to Code?

“Since high school I have always wanted to do something with computers. At the time I didn’t know what, but after working manual labor for most of my professional career, I was able to switch careers after getting an education in software development. Now I am able to provide for my family, thanks to the increased income, and not live paycheck-to-paycheck.”

— Jose Martinez

Jobana Westbay, Curriculum Developer

What she does for Mastery Coding:

Graphic Design and Coding Curriculum development.

Specialty:  Jobana codes in HTML, CSS, JavaScript and Python. She considers her coding area of expertise is in JavaScript. She’s also proficient at using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop!

Hobbies: Photography, drawing, motion graphics, and being outdoors.

Fun Fact: Jobana speaks Japanese fluently!

What Inspired Her to Code?

“The first time I did any kind of programming was probably in middle school, when my dad, a full stack web developer, tried to teach me HTML. I didn’t get very far with that at the time, but I actually went through a full intro to Python course in my junior year of high school, but it wasn’t until college that I started going deeper into it with an online web development course.”

— Jobana Westbay

Rich Conti, Esports Director & Curriculum Director

What he does for Mastery Coding

Rich oversees our Esports Courses! He’s also a core writer and narrator for our curriculum.

Specialty: Rich specializes in C#, Javascript, and Python. He also loves gameplay prototyping!

Hobbies: Camping, chess, and petting his cats.

Fun Fact: Rich was once ranked #12 Symmetra in Overwatch!

What Inspired Him to Code?

“I love gaming! I wanted to create and design my own games, and was constantly thinking about editing existing ones. Being able to apply coding concepts to use within gaming felt more real and allowed me to visualize how they worked and how to use them. I was able to combine my passion for games and my creativity together, which was so much more satisfying to me than learning to code through non-game programs.”

— Rich Conti

‍