Cory Sibu Tripathy (he/him/his) - Coding Mentor
Improviser. Collaborator. Automatic music-maker.
As a coding mentor at the Academy, Cory aims to connect learners to their professional goals by cultivating creativity through deep critical inquiry. For Cory, the Academy is a welcoming, collaborative space where weaknesses become strengths, failures become opportunities, questions become StackOverflow tabs, and StackOverflow tabs become even more questions.
In addition to his work in coding and software development, Cory maintains a career in music performance, composition, and music education. He is excited to use these experiences to help aspiring developers find their unique voice.
Cory received his master’s degree in Music Composition from Mills College where his thesis included a trio for Viola, Cello, and Piano, and a computer program that would improvise alongside his drumming. When not at the academy, Cory is either walking his dog, writing music, procrastinating practicing the drums, or begging his computer to compile his code.
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What would your fellow mentors say your greatest strengths are?
My fellow mentors might say that my positive attitude helps motivate and inspire others!
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If you were to offer students one piece of advice as they start their journey at the Academy, what would it be?
Be open to anything and try everything! As John Cage said, “Follow the leader. Nothing is a mistake. There is no win and no fail. There is only make.”
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Have you always wanted to work in tech? What is your personal history with tech?
I pivoted to tech after I had been in the music field for a while. I realized the connections between creativity in both fields and found that I could express myself, challenge myself, and stay inspired through coding.
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What was your experience with coding, tech, iOS, or entrepreneurship before the Academy?
My first experiences with coding were as an undergraduate research assistant where I used R and Python to study changes in glaciers. During the pandemic, I found that I was unable to have my acoustic music performed, so I turned to coding - in Max/MSP and Python - to generate computer music instead. I’ve been addicted to coding ever since!
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What made you want to be a mentor? What are you most excited about?
I’ve been lucky enough to have dedicated mentors and serve as a mentor in many different areas in my life. From the first music lessons I gave in high school to being a senior learner at the academy, giving and receiving knowledge from all sorts of people has been a natural part of my life.
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Where are you from and where do you live now?
San Francisco -> Dallas -> Los Angeles -> Ann Arbor -> Detroit -> Oakland -> Houston -> Oakland -> Ypsilanti -> Detroit. It’s enough U-Haul experiences for many lifetimes!