Alexandria Engen

IT Bootcamp Instructor Lead

Online

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Alexandria is a technology and security enthusiast who happens to call the beautiful mountains of Steamboat Springs, Colorado home. Alexandria works to bridge the worlds of cybersecurity, technology, and education with equal parts expertise and enthusiasm.

She proudly holds both an MBA and an MS in Information Systems (with a cybersecurity focus) plus multiple other professional certifications, making her the rare security professional who speaks both business and tech fluently. Her toolkit includes AWS, GCP, Python, Golang, Terraform, and Kubernetes—though she's constantly adding new technologies to her repertoire through client work, personal projects, and continuous learning.

Alexandria believes technology and security shouldn't be scary—just understood—and she's on a mission to help others see what’s out there not as an intimidating mass of technology, but as an exciting frontier of possibilities (that can also be properly secured!).

She approaches her work with genuine curiosity and a commitment to making security accessible. Her superpower? Translating complex security and technology concepts into language that even your non-technical friends could understand over coffee.

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IN CONVERSATION WITH ALEXANDRIA:

What is your favorite technical skill to work with on your own projects and why?

I absolutely love working with infrastructure-as-code - especially Terraform! There's something deeply satisfying about transforming what used to be weeks of tedious manual setup into elegant code that creates entire environments in minutes.

What is your favorite technical skill to teach to students and why?

I get genuinely excited teaching networking fundamentals! Nothing beats watching students' faces light up when they successfully build their first properly segmented network or troubleshoot a complex routing issue.

What is most important to you about teaching technical skills at General Assembly?

For me, it's creating that sweet spot between concept and application. I want you to understand not just the "what" but the "why" behind everything we do. When I see you confidently tackling hands-on labs, breaking things (on purpose!), then fixing them with understanding rather than memorization – that's when I know we're making real progress together.

What advice do you have for anyone looking to learn technical skills to reach new career goals?

Build small, complete projects that actually solve problems you care about! Documentation is your best friend – create a GitHub portfolio that shows your thinking process as much as your code. I've seen hiring managers spend lots of time looking at thoughtful README files because they want to understand how your brain works through challenges.

What would you like to highlight about your experience in your technical domain outside of teaching?

Aside from teaching, I lead security improvements at companies every day. These experiences continuously teach me that creative problem-solving and clear communication beat fancy tools every time – and now I get to bring those real-world lessons into our classroom conversations!

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WHAT ALEXANDRIA'S STUDENTS ARE SAYING...

"She’s patient, she speaks clearly, and most importantly, she supports all of us in reaching our goals."

"Alex is very good at her profession and she is a good instructor."

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