Some developers get into coding because they have a knack for languages; others enjoy challenging themselves to solve complicated problems. And then there are those who are not just interested in programming itself but in what code can do for the world. Yosevu is that special kind of developer we love who is a mix of all three: not just a linguistically skilled problem-solver but also deeply invested in how what he builds can change lives.
Raised in Kenya and the United States, Yosevu studied English as an undergrad and got his master’s in linguistics from the University of Colorado Boulder. After graduation, he taught English as a second language. Working primarily with immigrants and refugees from East Africa, he discovered that there weren’t many tools available for teaching English to non-literate adults. This experience, along with an interest in educational technology, drove him to develop the coding skills to create those tools.
Yosevu came to Sparkbox first as an apprentice—focusing on HTML, CSS, and JavaScript—and now joins us as a full-time developer. What excites Yosevu most about being part of the Sparkbox team is the opportunity to be part of a really great team; not simply someone who’s enjoyable to work with, but also someone who writes clean, expressive code that his team and clients can trust. Yosevu’s goal to help people applies not just to English-language learners, after all, but also to his clients and their users. Whatever the project, he sees it as an opportunity to improve lives.
When he’s not using code to help people, Yosevu can be found reading science fiction, exploring the natural world with his wife and son, and on Twitter and GitHub.
