How does a zookeeper become a software developer?
In 2013, I moved to Tennessee to become a zookeeper, my dream job since childhood, and spent over 5 years dedicated to the daily care of animals at the Nashville Zoo. I was driven by my passion for animals and conservation. I loved caring for animals and educating the public about issues I care so much about, but I longed for greater intellectual challenge and more growth opportunities.
I'd heard developers in my life discussing their work, always excited by the challenges and problem-solving opportunities it presented. I was intrigued, and with a little investigation I quickly knew that this could be my forever career. I naturally have a logical thought process, enjoy problem solving, and it seemed my strengths in math and science could contribute to my success. What's more, software development presents the opportunity for a true lifetime of learning.
Excited by the potential to have a second career that I loved, but that would allow me more growth, I applied to and enrolled in Nashville Software School. I will be graduating in June 2019. I'm learning HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and C#/.NET, among other skills and tools. As expected, I'm being challenged and learning new things constantly. Most importantly, I'm truly having fun and enjoying the process! I remain passionate about animals and conservation, and look forward to finding ways to apply these new technical skills to those fields.
December 2018 - June 2019
Intensive full-time software development boot camp focusing on full stack development fundamentals and problem-solving.
July 2013 - December 2018
Experienced zookeeper specializing in hoofed mammals. Guest education through keeper chats and tours. Additionally responsible for hiring and training interns.
July 2013 - September 2015
Responsible for all aspects of daily care of animals that the public can interact with. Heavy emphasis on guest education.
2010 - 2013
Responsible for all office duties in a small veterinary practice. Also entering animal records and assisting with animal procedures as needed.
2010 - 2013
Responsible for customer service, cashiering, restocking, shelving, and other duties as needed.
September 2006 - June 2010
Summa Cum Laude
Top 1% of the College of Sciences
HTML5 / CSS3 / React / Firebase / npm
As a zookeeper, part of my job was training animals and recording training session data. But training sessions happen in the field, in barns, usually nowhere near a computer. Sometimes it was hours before I'd get computer access. Paper notes are no good, due to often working in inclement weather. So, I created Bridge! to provide a mobile solution. Users can add animals and behaviors, record training sessions on the go, and view training history.
Bridge! is a mobile-friendly single-page application built with React.js. It has full CRUD functionality. Photos uploaded by users are stored with Firebase. Styling was done using Reactstrap elements in conjunction with my own CSS.
C# / ASP.NET MVC / Entity & Identity / SQL Server
I love zoos, and wherever I travel, I try to visit as many as possible. But there are tons of zoos, many of which I've never even heard of, and it's hard to remember where I've been, and when. ZooList allows users to view a list of zoos and related animal facilities, add them to their wishlist, and record their visits. Users can also create itineraries by adding trips and assigning multiple zoos to each trip.
ZooList is a C# web application built with ASP.NET using Entity and Identity frameworks, using SQL Server as the database engine.
