Tinkerer, builder and lifelong learner with irrepressible curiosity for life. Ex theatre technician turned software programmer. Programming has been an interest, a hobby and a passion for most of my life, turning it into a career has been one of the most fulfilling decisions of my life. I aim to build apps and websites implementing features that make people's lives better, happier and more productive.

I'm from a family of hobbyist crafters, DIYers and builders. In that environment, it's hard not to inherit the make-do and mend attitude to life. As a former theatre technician, I regularly had to learn a new skill in order to build or fix something or assist with the running of a production, whether it was learning how to roll cigarettes for an onstage smoking scene, upholstering furniture or using a new sound desk. I think this constant cycle of learning skills is key to my life as a developer where I am constantly forced to learn new languages and tools in order to build projects.

I was first attracted to programming when trying to make using my mac faster and easier. I discovered productivity tools like Alfred, BetterTouchTool and Popclip, and taught myself to use applescript, shell scripts and python to write small extensions for them, like an extension that quits all open apps but one, an extension to keep a macbook awake with the lid closed for a given duration, and an extension that allows you to control mac's picture-in-picture mode with keyboard shortcuts. These serve to demonstrate my attitude to coding and making things: if it doesn't work how you like, or you want to make it better, then dive in and build something functional that changes that.

I love to learn. After an extreme teenage envy of a friend's talent on piano, I taught myself to play from scratch. At A level I took an extra subject by choice, and later self taught myself Latin and Further Maths and English Literature. Learning to organise my own education made me learn a lot about how I learn, but mostly I learnt that teaching yourself entirely on your own is really difficult! However, inner curiosity is an irrepressable part of my personality, I like learning for its own sake . Learning programming at Makers Academy continued in that tradition of self-driven learning, but gave me the support needed to identify processes to manage my own learning and how best to use those around me to accelerate my learning.

These were all projects undertaken at Makers' Academy either solo or in groups of 4 using an Agile workflow involving 2 day sprints. They are also fully test-driven.

A prestigious intensive 16 week bootcamp designed to produce students confident in OOP, TDD, MVC programming, and Agile work practices.

Makers' Academy feels fundamentally different to other educational experiences I've had. Learning is self-driven, and much of the learning experience comes from the near professional atmosphere of the learning where students are encouraged to work in pairs, engage in multiple group projects, and use Agile practices to closely mirror a real-world working environment. The experience feels more like 3 months of professional experience than an educational course.

• Languages/tools learnt: Ruby, Rails, JavaScript, Node, React, RSpec, Jasmine...

• Makers' academy has driven me to learn the key concepts of programming at an intense pace, while still giving me the freedom to spend time consolidating topics or reading ahead to the next material. I am not afraid to take on new technology and build with a previously unknown tool.

• The pair programming teaching model at Makers has made me a stronger programmer. I'm forced to work constantly with different people and adapt my workflow to suit their way of working and produce the best possible code.

• The relentless focus on best working practises and Test Driven Development has made me into a developer who feels ready to work within a team on real world exciting projects.

OSGi is a framework and set of guidelines that assists in creating and managing modular code in Java.

I took a training course run by Paremus Ltd which trained me in the basics of using OSGi with Java. I had no prior experience in Java before this so self taught before attending. This was a valuable experience learning alongside Senior Java developers from Credit Suisse and Computer Science students.

I disappointingly had to leave Glasgow due to my mental health, however the programming classes I took there left an impression on me and later I carried on programming in my spare time using python to script things on my computer.

• Photography - A
• Maths - B
• English Language & Literature - B
• Film Studies - B

• 4 A*'s
• 5 A's
• 3 B's

Voices for Hospices website (2015)
Maintenance and troubleshooting, fixing bugs + issues on WordPress, working with HTML/CSS, image editing.

Stanley School Library (2014 - 2015)
Setting up library barcode software, working with databases, enrolling new students, encouraging kids to read.

Patrons Department at the Royal Academy (2012 - 2013)
Helping out with mailings, memberships + invoices. Also photographer for events.

Paremus.com (Dec 2015)
Web developer

Fixing WordPress bugs, creating a syndicated blog + adding improved Twitter support.

This was a really excellent opportunity to work on a live website, fixing changes that broke code and working to a given specification all while having to manage my time efficiently to be cost effective.

Worked with PHP and used Wordpress webhooks to auto-syndicate content for blog.

Used HTML + CSS to create a responsive site that worked on mobile + desktop.

Various jobs as a freelance theatre technician and stage hand including:

Jermyn Street Theatre (Apr - May 2018)
'Tonight at 8:30', 'Tomorrow at Noon'
Stage Crew

Assisting with set up, scene changes + general stage management tasks.

ArtsTech Ltd. (2013 - 2018)
Staff / Crew

Art handling, lighting, sound, staging, set construction for theatre spaces, art exhibitions, fashion shows, music events, as well as local events.

Gate Theatre (2016 - 2017)
Crew

Deconstructing sets, staging, and installing new theatre sets for multiple shows.

Southwark Playhouse (Jun 2017)
'Dessert'
Assistant Set Builder

Construction, carpentry, installation.

Amateur pianist

I love classical music and arranging old film music.

Board games and puzzle fiend

I love games, puzzles and quizzes. (Only Connect rules!)

Building/making things

I belong to a communal workshop where I work on electronics projects and make cool things.