I am a full stack developer and natural problem solver who loves finding beauty and order in complexity. My journey has included a Mathematics degree from the University of Bristol, scaling Bulgarian mountains and cycling the streets of Oxford. I have entered the world of tech as it will provide a continually stimulating and nourishing environment to develop and hone my skillset.
| Name | Description | Tech used |
|---|---|---|
| Acebook | A 'facebook' type social media app with posts, likes, comments, user icons and a Lord of the Rings theme. | React, Express, Node, MongoDB, Cypress, Jest, CSS |
| MakersBnB | An 'Airbnb' clone with property listings, adding dates, booking requests and confirming bookings and a mailer function to notify users of activity. | Ruby, Sinatra, RSpec, PostgreSQL, HTML, CSS |
| Whatever The Weather | A single page web app which lets a user select a holiday destination and some activities, then allocates each activity to the most appropriate day based on the weather forecast. | React, Express, Node, Jest, Cypress, CSS |
| Oxford Abandoned Bikes | Current project which helps keep track of abandoned bicycles left in Oxford so they can be potentially reclaimed or reported. I am using this to learn to use Python for a backend and a new framework (Vue.js) for the frontend. Currently it contains CRUD endpoints relating to bicycles and their locations. | Python, Flask, Pytest, PostgreSQL, Vue.js |
Makers Academy (March 2023 to July 2023)
Student software developer
- Emphasis on collaborative and pair programming, encouraging excellent articulation and communication of the code we produce.
- We followed strict agile processes during engineering projects in order to delegate tasks between the group and used git branching and pull requests to combine our work.
- Learning to test drive my code was instilled at Makers which allows me to confidently take on seemingly complex problems by breaking them down into easier, manageable steps. E.g - the 'Bowling Scorecard' project above demonstrates some complex logic in the scorecard.js and frame.js files (to allow for strike / spare bonuses to be added) but my tests follow a very clear and logical progression in complexity.
- I've gained invaluable experience in agile methodologies during engineering projects (stand up meetings, sprint planning, retros), allowing us to delegate tasks between the group and have gained great experience of git branching and pull requests.
Oxwash (November 2021 to October 2022)
Cycle courier
- Collecting and delivering laundry from customers and businesses on an electric cargo bike, cycling around 30-40 miles a day.
- Having to work dynamically with the laundry team in order to get items ready and delivered on time. This team mentality and achieving group goals is something I have maintained in my engineering projects.
I. Stracy Gardening (May 2021 - November 2021)
Gardener
- Working alongside a self employed gardener, mostly doing maintenance of residential gardens in and around Oxford.
- By tidying up flower beds or neatening lawns I would come away with wonderful satisfaction, which is comparable to the feeling of refactoring a messy piece of code.
- The attention to detail required when working for clients with high standards is something I have taken forward with me into my software practice.
Snomads (December 2019 - March 2020)
Chef and Chalet Host
- Running and catering for up to 22 guests in a ski resort chalet in Bulgaria, making breakfast and 3 course dinners 6 days a week.
- I worked closely in a small kitchen with just one other and so communication was key to ensuring we managed busy days efficiently and could bring each other up when we were feeling burnt out.
- Task delegation based on our skills and likes was important, for example, my colleague would make most of the cooked breakfasts in the morning as I would begin making bread and doing food preparation for evening meals.
- Completing individual tasks but working toward a collective goal is something I love about working in software development teams.
Deliveroo (January 2021 - May 2021)
Cycle courier
- Delivering food orders from restaurant to customer by bike.
- This self-motivated work was tiring but enjoyable as picking your deliveries and completing them efficiently provided lovely gratification, comparable to choosing a ticket in a software project and moving it to 'completed' when finished.
Matthew Arnold School (November 2012 - December 2018)
Cleaner part-time
- Responsible for my own department of which I would maintain to a high standard during term times for 2 hours each week day.
- I would also take on extra work in the holidays in order to conduct a deeper clean of the whole school, which meant learning to use various machinery.
- We'd begin these full days with an organisational meeting to decide what would be done and by who, a practice which can be applied to software environment, requiring clear task delegation and organisation.
During my time at Oxwash I'd often have to communicate between customers and our operations team. As a delivery cyclist, we would represent the company at people's homes and so providing a pleasant experience for them was key. I'd always answer questions they may have had about our process and if there was anything I did not know, I'd contact the team in the office and relay any information I could back to the customer. Training new staff members was also part of this role that I really enjoyed. I'd have new members of staff shadow me and therefore needed to convey the appropriate amount of information to make them comfortable and build up their confidence on the bicycles. This is necessary for talking through complex coding problems and gaining a greater shared understanding.
During my time at Bristol University, I found that I preferred pure maths modules such as Set Theory and Number Theory. These subjects lend themselves to more eloquent and theoretical problems. Constructing a proof of a theorem can often be done in many ways, which employs the use of creative solutions, much like how a coding problem can be solved in various ways. For example, a proof by induction as a way of proving something relating to integer numbers is something I am fond of, and noticing the relation to this concept of 'induction' with the concept of 'recursion' in programming was a fascinating realisation.
Often I would go above and beyond in my role at Oxwash, once completing the highest number of deliveries during a two day period. We had an evening slot of 5-7pm and when our evening cyclist was off, I'd frequently extend my working day to cover for them. In my cleaning role when I was a student at Matthew Arnold School, I would do full weeks of voluntary overtime during holidays which demonstrates the strong work ethic I have kept from an early age. I'm also very determined to develop new skills in my personal life, for example, recently restoring a vintage road bike by independently learning how to take intricate parts apart and replace them.
I pride myself on doing things right and to the best of my ability. Whilst working in the ski chalets, serving beautiful looking food was high on our priorities. Plating up 20 + meals each evening required a lot of close focus since we were dealing with many elements for each course and each plate had to look great! This care added to a wonderful all round experience for the guests, who appreciated the small details and gave us a sense of pride and satisfaction over our work. I thoroughly enjoy delving deeply into task and perfecting my craft, which is what I love most about writing code, making it neat and efficient and beautiful.
- Mathematics BSc, with a focus on pure mathematics.
- 2:1
I enjoy cycling, playing and watching live music, climbing and circus tricks.