The Past

I grew up in a small Oregon town. Like many in my town I worked multiple blue collar jobs, and at times simultaneously, in order to make ends meet. Of those jobs, the most notable were working in plywood mills, construction, and driving a commercial truck for a local ice company. While I sometimes miss the simplicity of those days, they were some of the hardest financial years of my life.

I eventually figured out that I needed to do something different. With the changing economy and a family to support, I just couldn't afford to keep doing the same things and expecting that I would achieve any kind of stability. I decided to join the Army. Shortly after, I was jumping out of planes, training, and living the military life. My first deployment was 4 months after I arrived at my first duty station. I spent the next year in Iraq. At my 2.5 year mark I was promoted to Sergeant. Soon after, I deployed to Afghanistan for 6.5 months. After I got back, I was nearing the end of my contract and decided it was time to start a new chapter of my life.

I chose to pursue a degree in Computer Science. I graduated in 2017 with a Bachelor's of Science in Computer Science from Portland State University. Over the course of my time at Portland State University I discovered that I loved to build things with code. I am constantly researching topics, learning new skills, and refining old ones. I love to learn, and luckily Computer Science is a field where the learning never stops. No really, it literally... never... ends. As a professor once told me, "You'll never know everything about Computer Science. You won't even know everything you'll need to know to do your job." However true this may be, I am determined to know as much as I can. I find I gravitate towards those with more knowledge than me in order to learn what they know. I also love sharing knowledge and I feel like it's my way of paying back the people who have helped me as my career has progressed.

Professional Life

I've worked as a GPS systems analyst, I've written flight software for hypersonics, and worked on applications for a robotics company. I've started each role with very little domain knowledge and through a lot of dedication, hard work, and team collaboration I've proven to be a highly productive team member who delivers assigned tasks on time.

I love the career field I've chosen. Working independently while being involved in a highly collaborative team is something that I highly value in this career. The problems that need to be solved are always interesting (as well as frustrating at times) but it feels like such a big accomplishment when the feature is complete and then on to the next one.

The Future

I'd love to continue contributing to interesting software. I am always on the lookout for ways to further my career, meet smart and knowledgable software engineers, and know that my work is impactful.

While I have a very strong preference for working remote, I'm open to other opportunities that may be out there. When looking at potential positions, I gravitate towards an inclusive, communicative team that values and prioritizes the team's time. This includes limiting meetings to only those who are absolutely required to attend, ensuring the team has the proper resources, and encouraging knowledge sharing amongst the team.

In the meantime, I spend my free time hanging out with family, reading, playing board games, doing a little bit of traveling, and finding ways to continue learning and growing my skill set.