About Me

I have earned respect both professionally and academically in regards to software development. Professionally, I was valued for my insights into the actual problem surrounding the software project. This enthusiasm always led to a better solution than what was originally proposed. My broad experience with a variety of technologies also allowed me to adapt quickly to the requirements. For example, I was able to shed weeks off of development time by quickly familiarizing myself with a custom software platform and my natural understanding of Object-Oriented Programming and XML.

Academically, I was highly regarded in student groups for my ability to understand the “business requirements” for technology projects – not just being able to program. Because of this, I was asked to become the Technology Chair for the Engineering Tribunal – the largest student group in the College of Engineering. My involvement mainly consisted of running the technology side of the Engineering Career Fair – the largest career fair on campus.

I have experience programming in the following languages:

• PHP
• .NET (C# and VB)
• MATLAB
• XML
• Python
• HTML
• CSS
• Javascript

I am also familiar with the following database technologies:

• MySQL
• Microsoft SQL Server
• PostgreSQL

While I haven’t had the opportunity to work with every programming language or database technology, I feel confident in my ability to adapt and excel in any programming environment.

One of my greatest passions in technology is the web. It was in part due to this passion that I was able to succeed in my greatest challenges. The power and opportunities of web-driven technologies is growing each day. I pride myself on being able to use today’s latest technologies and leveraging the most powerful frameworks.

I have extensive experience in the following areas:

• Drupal (Advanced Module Devleopment)
• CSS3 / HTML5
• jQuery
• Facebook Applications

With these technologies, I am able to create a rapid prototype of most web-based projects in a matter of days versus the traditional weeks (or more) of development. In the past, these prototypes have helped shape the final product and create a more detailed requirements document. And in some cases, these rapid prototypes have proven to be the perfect framework for a final product.

I have additional experience with some other popular frameworks:

• WordPress
• Joomla
• Sharepoint
• YUI
• MooTools
• WCF RIA-Services

See some of my web development projects.

After graduating with honors from the largest high school in Ohio, I enrolled in the Mechanical Engineering program at the University of Cincinnati. Their prestigious co-op program was the first in the country and is unrivaled in its success, even during the recent recession. This co-op program gave me over 18 months of working experience over a three year period and gave me the skill-sets and confidence to succeed.

After completing my first few quarters at Procter & Gamble, it became clear to me that I was more suited for positions working with technology and project management than as a Mechanical Engineer. While this affected my professional choices in co-op and post-graduation plans, I will still be graduating as a Mechanical Engineering student in June of 2011. This gives me a unique perspective on many problems and was a key to my success during the last few co-op quarters.

During the entirety of my life, I have had a passion for all things electronic. This slowly developed into a software obsession and led to basic programming projects at a young age. During the advent of free web hosting, I fell in love with the structure and flexibility of programming on the web. My self-taught programming has been one of the largest factors in my successes.

During my many projects during co-op, one theme that I was always drawn to was personal productivity. I would constantly find myself working with my co-workers around me teaching them any of my “life-hacks” when it comes to being productive on a computer. What started as sharing keyboard shortcuts and basic Excel macros during my first quarter quickly became the basis of my project. In my next roles at P&G, personal productivity issues became my focus and many of the projects continue to have an impact inside the company. One thing I have learned from these experiences is that many people don’t know there are better ways to do their work. Bringing in someone with extensive experience in both modern technologies and a desire to help can create productivity boosts that many didn’t know was possible.

You can see more about these projects here.

Procter & Gamble employs one of the largest numbers of PMP (PMI Project Management Professional) Certified managers in the world. It was through their mentorship and classroom training that I was able to successfully manage multiple projects each and every quarter. With over 1,000 hours of qualifying experience in project management already obtained through the co-op program in addition to required classroom training, I am well positioned to become a certified PMP in a short time frame. I have extensive experience with the Microsoft Office Suite as well as experience managing projects through Microsoft Project.

Click here to see projects in which I led.