Before joining Makers Academy I spent six years working in arts logistics and exhibition design. During this time I worked on a number of arts and technology crossover projects and this was the catalyst for my interest in tech. I began to teach myself to code in 2016 and found that the combination of logic and software design was both immersive and intellectually satisfying.

I decided to join Makers Academy to improve the quality of my code and, attracted by the intensity of the course, as a challenge to myself. In addition to the technical and soft skills I have gained, Makers Academy has given me greater confidence in my ability to approach the unfamiliar and a clearer insight into how to iteratively improve my learning.

I work well in collaborative teams and care about the outcome of my work. With this in mind I would like to work for a company that fosters a collaborative working environment and that has a positive impact on the world.

During my time at Makers Academy, I have gone from being a hobbyist coder to being able to confidently build fully tested, end-to-end web applications using a range of technologies. You can find a full list of projects on my Github but below are some of my favourite projects to date:

• In previous roles I organised international and high profile art exhibitions that often had many stakeholders in various locations across the world (including clients, artists, gallery owners and colleagues). The ability to communicate clearly to a large range of people, sometimes on minuscule details, was essential.
• One of my goals on starting Makers Academy was to become a programmer with great collaboration skills and an enabler of my own and others' ideas. I achieved this by tailoring my existing communication skills to pairing and group work, by following the rules of XP Programming and by championing regular standups and retros.

• Studying ancient languages at university was thorough training in critical thinking and data analysis. There are very clear parallels that can be drawn between writing code and text composition since in both cases structure, content and style must all be carefully considered.
• While working at the National Gallery I developed my analytical skills by gathering and analysing numerical data, including visitor figures, retail income and wifi traffic, as part of several operational trial projects designed to maximise the Gallery's profit in the face of significant funding cuts. In the summer of 2017 the Gallery changed the location of its main entrance based on the analysis I presented to the Board. This resulted in an 6% upturn in retail profit and exhibition ticket sales.

• Problem solving was one of the main things that drew me to coding and it has been the thing I have enjoyed the most during my time at Makers Academy. I employed very practical problem solving skills at work - no one exhibition was the same and I was often faced with unique logistical constraints, for example shipping to or from unusual locations or working with priceless, large or extremely fragile artworks. I have greatly enjoyed being able to apply my skills to coding and to engage with problems on a more theoretical level. During the course I have actively sought out extra challenges - such as avoiding existing testing frameworks in favour of building my own - and aim to continue learning new languages as part of this outlook.

Highlights of the course:

• Feeding my curiosity and fascination for code - demonstrated in my work from the course and my side projects
• Adopting a growth-mindset and becoming more adept at analysing my strengths and potential areas for improvement
• Focusing on best practice and high quality code through OOP, TDD and MVC
• Championing structured communication including daily standups and retros
• Following the principles of agile software development and extreme programming closely
• Using the following technologies: Ruby, Rails, Javascript, Node.js and Clojure
• Using the following testing frameworks: Rspec, Jasmine and custom built assertion libraries

Principles of Accounting and Financial Decision Making - Grade A

Classics BA - 2.1

• Additional modules in Mathematics and Spanish
• Throughout my time at university I taught Latin in primary schools in Hackney as part of the Iris Project, an educational charity that aims to introduce the languages and culture of the ancient world to UK state schools.

Executive Assistant and Governance Coordinator, Director's Office

Notable projects:

• Soundscapes - An exhibition that combined artwork and music.
• Weaving Magic - A solo modern art exhibition.

Arts Administrator, Arts Team

Coordinator, Galleries and Collectors Team

Project Assistant

I write a blog about my transition from Arts to Tech. In my spare time I run, box and attend art exhibitions.