If you’re lucky, you’ve had a teacher who made a big impact on you. A teacher who made you sit up a little further in your seat. Who shaped your character or interests well beyond the semester or year you spent in their classroom.

For me it was Mr Wiffen, the mathematics teacher who helped me and a class of 25 students finish their entrance exams 2 years early. 

Mike Engber and Dan Halabe probably don’t even identify as teachers–they’ve had long, successful careers in tech–but somehow I think their students think of them as one of these impactful teachers.

I sat down with them to talk about teaching Computer Science at De Anza College in Silicon Valley, Mike’s storied career as a developer at Apple, and Dan’s experiences as a developer, technology consultant and his time working with the team who wrote the first client-side browser applications EVER for Netscape. 

If you’re an educator who wants to get in touch with Dan or Mike, shoot us an email at [email protected].