In high school, I was fortunate enough to attend a school with a mandatory computer science curriculum. Up until then, computing was a subject I knew next to nothing about and one I likely would never have imagined myself developing a passion for independently. I remember watching my code make a little red ball roll across the screen and feeling a sense of excitement overtake my confusion and hesitation. I continued on with the AP course which I nearly flunked out of but with the guidance of my teacher, I pushed through and was thrilled to find myself coding everything from card games to websites. That feeling of solving puzzles of code after days of uncertainty drove my determination and I never looked back.

I continued my computer science studies at Calvin University where I also added a major in biology (I’ll still talk your ear off about plants if you let me). I spent most of my years at Calvin leading a Girls Who Code club where I was able to pass on the value of the STEM education that I had received. In my final year of college, I won first place in Calvin’s hackathon competition after developing an Arduino-based IoT plant monitoring system. I spent the intermediate years interning at a variety of places including the Harvard Forest, SeaLandAire Technologies, Cornell AgriTech, and North Carolina State University. These experiences allowed me to find intersections between computer science and other industries that interest me like ecology and agriculture.

I was drawn to Atomic by that same quality. Working in consulting allows me to continue learning from professionals in their fields while helping them reach their software-related goals. I look forward to the continuous growth that Atomic’s “teach and learn” environment will bring. Outside of work you might find me taking care of my garden, playing Civilization with friends, going on a hike, or trying very hard to learn a fifth chord on the banjo.