Melissa may be a relative beginner at a lot of things—full-stack web development, rock climbing, and piano playing, to name a few—but don’t let her newbie status fool you. The recent college grad, who comes to us straight from our Frontend Design Apprenticeship, knows her stuff and quickly masters new skills.
While studying graphic communications at Clemson University, the Kansas native began to teach herself code, using 100 Days of Code as inspiration. From there, Melissa did an internship with 52inc, where she focused on UX and UI, and began attending conferences, including the Front-End Design Conference. There, she took a workshop on the fundamentals of modern JavaScript from Daniel and our technical director Ryan.
As her senior year came to a close, Melissa started to search for opportunities in web development. Our Frontend Design Apprenticeship felt like the perfect fit to her—a chance to build on her existing HTML and CSS skills, learn more JavaScript, and experiment with animation. Plus, Melissa was drawn to Sparkbox’s inclusive culture, she says, and wanted to be a part of it. “Coming into tech as a woman can be intimidating,” says Melissa. “To come here and see a strong team of women and no sexism, I feel like I don’t have to worry about proving myself or pretending to know something I don’t. Everyone is so open and supportive.”
Having Melissa on-board as an apprentice felt like the perfect fit to us, too, which is why we’re excited to welcome her to the team as a full-fledged, full-stack developer. We can’t wait for her to impress clients with her curiosity, thoughtfulness, and creativity. “Making an idea in someone’s head tangible is the fun part,” she says.
Say hello to Melissa on Twitter and check out her GitHub profile for all the great code she’s contributing.
