Samuel A. Rebelsky & Amanda Hinchman-Dominguez ’17

Teaching students to see a problem and solve a problem.

“Amanda came to Grinnell with drive and enthusiasm, and what she really needed from mentorship was a boost of confidence that she could do amazing things in computer science.”
— Samuel A. Rebelsky

Mentored research can take on many forms at Grinnell. In the case of Amanda Hinchman-Dominguez ’17, it was working with a professor who believed in her and nurtured her ability to think creatively.

“Amanda came to Grinnell with drive and enthusiasm, and what she really needed from mentorship was a boost of confidence that she could do amazing things in computer science,” says Sam Rebelsky, computer science professor. “Amanda wondered if she had the skills and strength to realize her goals. I had no doubt; she worked harder than any student I know to get where she is today, and she’s doing spectacularly well.”

As a software engineer at Yello.co – a talent acquisition platform based in Chicago – Hinchman-Dominguez specialized in web, native, and mobile applications. In October 2019, she began a new job as a senior Kotlin engineer at 47 Degrees, a global consulting and development firm.

Kotlin is a statically-typed language that works on a Java Virtual Machine (JVM). It became popular because Google adopted Kotlin as the official language for Android. Kotlin is multi-faceted and is used on web, server, native, and multiplatform development.

Hinchman-Dominguez also hosts Kotlin Thursdays, crowd-sourced tutorials for people wanting to try out Kotlin. Additionally, Hinchman-Dominguez has spoken at international conferences as an expert on Kotlin, runs a popular technology blog, and co-organizes the Chicago Kotlin User Group.

“She’s taken the skills we all knew she had and really gone places,” Rebelsky said. “I’m so proud of her.”

Not long after arriving at Grinnell in 2013 from Titusville, Florida, Hinchman-Dominguez began working as a student technology consultant for the College. She assessed and repaired computer and technological problems.

In 2014, she was hired as a Data Analysis and Social Inquiry Lab (DASIL) programmer. The lab helps students and faculty members integrate data analysis into research and classroom projects. Hinchman-Dominguez worked on creating data visualization, displaying data on graphs and maps.

Part of the core educational approach for Grinnell is individually advised learning and mentored research. In conjunction with Rebelsky, Hinchman-Dominguez helped develop a novel educational web app.

“Without support and encouragement from considerate faculty members like Sam Rebelsky, I would not have graduated with a computer science degree,” Hinchman-Dominguez says.

Hinchman-Dominguez also was active in many activities across campus, including the Judicial Council, App Dev group, and the Grinnell QuestBridge Council. QuestBridge is a national nonprofit organization that connects high-achieving, underserved high school students with educational opportunities. Hinchman-Dominguez planned local events for QuestBridge scholars and promoted their accomplished on social media.

Since graduation, Hinchman-Dominguez has presented metaprogramming research in Amsterdam, led a hands-on Kotlin Tornado FX workshop at the Chicago Google Developers Group, and recently presented “Kotlin: The Next Frontier in Metaprogramming” at a Kotlin conference. She also presented her research work this summer at the Conference for Kotliners 2019 in Budapest.