Meet our latest 2023 coding bootcamp scholarship recipients 

To create new paths into tech for more students, particularly members of underrepresented populations in tech, we offer scholarships for our coding bootcamps on a rolling basis.

Below, meet the latest recipients of our We Stand Together Scholarship, Galvanize Scholarship, and the Eddie G. Marovich Memorial Scholarship, which honors the memory of Galvanize graduate and software engineer Eddie G. Marovich.

Plus, we caught up with Adjoa Reeves, a bootcamp graduate who was awarded a scholarship in 2020. She talks about the impact of the scholarship and what she’s up to now as a Software Engineer at Blend, a financial services software company.

Editor’s note: The bios below were provided by the awardees.


We Stand Together Scholarship

Our We Stand Together Scholarship is for those who identify as Black or African-American and who are interested in our Beginner Full-Time Coding Bootcamp. To plan for a more equitable future in tech, we launched an Opportunity Fund back in 2020 to fund this scholarship, and today, we’re happy to announce our latest recipient.

Nathan Wizard


Nathan Wizard, Beginner Full-Time Coding Bootcamp


Nathan Wizard is a Los Angeles-based Black, trans, and queer person. They currently serve as an audio engineer within the podcasting space. Their decision to pivot into tech stems from a desire to improve accessibility, features, and resources for those on the disability spectrum, and to increase equality by improving understanding and decreasing bias for the structural data used by people and companies that create products for users from all walks of life.

Nathan is honored to have received the opportunity and investing support into tech from Galvanize and Hack Reactor and hopes to pay it forward for marginalized communities and ‘underdog’ organizations that need assistance as they continue to enrich and support groups facing higher percentages of hardship and inequality. They hope to streamline processes for organizations and activists who serve BIPOC, LGBTQIA, and sex worker communities, individuals on the disability and neurodivergent spectrums, and individuals experiencing homelessness, addiction, and poverty.

Nathan is happy to talk with anyone who’d like to reach out about any of the topics listed above, and about upcoming projects and programs where insight or consultation around topics regarding race, disability, and LGBTQIA identities may be needed. Feel free to connect on LinkedIn and say hello.

Galvanize Scholarship

Our Galvanize Scholarship is open to Individuals who identify as belonging to one or more groups that are historically underrepresented in the tech industry, including BIPOC (Black/indigenous/person of color), formerly incarcerated persons, those in the LGBTQIA+ community, persons with disabilities, persons over age 40, Veterans, and women. Meet the latest Galvanize Scholarship recipients.

Scholarship recipient Zhenya Sakal


Zhenya Sakal, Beginner Full-Time Coding Bootcamp

Zhenya, born and raised in Ukraine, left her homeland to pursue a Ph.D. in history at Yale. After spending ten years teaching and conducting historical research, she developed a keen interest in digital humanities, which led her to discover her passion for coding. Despite having no formal education in software engineering, she committed herself to self-study and obtained a Solutions Architect certification in cloud development. As a woman in her mid-30s and an immigrant, Zhenya is committed to promoting equity in tech and advocating for women, immigrants, and refugees to pursue new careers.

She is deeply grateful for the scholarship that made her education possible and hopes to leverage her research skills, cloud expertise, and coding knowledge to create something truly innovative and give back to her community.

Scholarship recipient Holly Stefan

Holly Stefan, Intermediate Coding Bootcamp

Holly is a North Carolina native now residing in Colorado. She graduated from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with dual degrees in English and Biology. While pursuing a career in Technical Communication, she became fascinated with software bugs and began working in Quality Assurance. After years of finding bugs and documenting them for others to fix, Holly is excited to become a developer and fix the bugs herself.

When not behind a computer screen, Holly enjoys skiing, hiking, running, and reading. She looks forward to using her new skills to positively impact the field of software development and to inspire others who want to pursue a career in technology.

About the Eddie G. Marovich Memorial Scholarship

In honor of Galvanize graduate Eddie G. Marovich’s life and memory, members of his surviving community have made a generous pledge in the form of the Eddie G. Marovich Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship is awarded each year for five years to a top-scoring Galvanize Scholarship applicant to attend one of our technical programs.

Additional information about Eddie:

On September 4th, 2021, Eddie Marovich passed away, leaving us all far too soon. He was an incredible developer, teammate, and friend to many, and left us with a wealth of fond memories to appreciate and remember.

Eddie Marovich

Eddie graduated from Galvanize in Boulder, CO, and proceeded to balance a meaningful career in web development with his ever-present adventurous and enthusiastic spirit. An avid rock climber and snowboarder, he was known to “wow” his friends and strangers alike with his athletic and acrobatic antics. The world was Eddie’s jungle gym and he loved to play.  

He had a magnetic personality and a deep passion for helping others. Eddie acted as a technical recruiter and mentor to many of his friends, who often took an atypical path to coding like he did. He spoke often of doing what he could to help get others into a career in web development, particularly those who lacked the confidence or the means.

In Eddie’s spirit of excitement and inclusion, we hope that recipients of the Eddie G. Marovich Memorial Scholarship will gain the skills, support, and knowledge to help them start their own careers in technology and live a life full of adventure. 

Announcing the first Eddie G. Marovich Memorial Scholarship recipient

We honor Eddie and his community and thank the scholarship benefactors for their generosity and belief in tech education. We’re proud to announce that Oscar Carvente is the first recipient of the Eddie G. Marovich Memorial Scholarship. Learn more about Oscar below, in his own words:

Oscar Carvente

Oscar Carvente, Intermediate Coding Bootcamp

Oscar is a first-generation college student from South Central L.A. who faced many challenges when he began his studies at Stanford University. He was uncertain about pursuing a computer science degree, but he became determined to make a difference in low-income communities of color and eventually decided to become a teacher in San Jose. For five years, he worked tirelessly to provide students from similar backgrounds with access to math and problem-solving skills that he himself had struggled to acquire.

Through his work as an educator, Oscar discovered a passion for inspiring young people to pursue their dreams, no matter how daunting they may seem. In his free time, he has been supporting programs that teach coding to youth of color from low-income communities similar to his own. He believes that everyone deserves the opportunity to learn and grow. Now, Oscar is excited to attend the Hack Reactor immersive program and hopes to gain the skills and confidence he needs to make a meaningful impact in the tech industry.

Checking in with a former Galvanize Scholarship recipient

Adjoa Reeves

A few years ago, Adjoa Reeves was working in finance for Walmart.com. She started to take note of what the software engineers were up to, and how their work seemed to steer so much of what the company was able to accomplish. Over time, her curiosity turned into a desire to become a software engineer herself.

To do so, Adjoa applied to our Intermediate Coding Bootcamp and enrolled after receiving a full-tuition Galvanize Scholarship. Now, she’s working at Blend, a financial services software company, where she started as an apprentice and worked her way into her current role as Software Engineer.

We had the chance to chat with her recently about her new career, her time in the bootcamp, and the impact the scholarship had on her overall experience.

“Financially, because I had the scholarship, I felt a positive impact, especially coming from the world of higher education and student loans. I didn’t have to worry about adding more debt. I didn’t have to worry, coming out of the bootcamp, about how I was going to pay back loans. All I really had to do was graduate and then find a job.”

Read Adjoa’s story here.

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If you’re interested in learning how to participate in our Scholarship Advisory Council, please contact scholarships@galvanize.com for consideration. A team member will set up a brief Zoom call to discuss your interest, the application review process, and our expectations of council members. Firsthand familiarity with Galvanize programs is helpful, though not necessarily required. Current or prospective students of Galvanize programs are not considered to avoid conflicts of interest.

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