About

I grew up in a small farm town in Central Illinois. My childhood was a blur of outdoor adventures, from playing sports with friends to exploring the local woods. But my world changed when my family got its first computer, a beige tower running Windows XP. I was fascinated by it. I spent countless hours playing games like Command and Conquer, creating digital art in Paint, and exploring the endless pages of the early internet.

Illinois farmland

After high school, I attended community college, which gave me the freedom to explore my interests without the pressure of choosing a major right away. I took classes in everything from biology and physics to art history and German. It was an introductory Java course, however, that truly set me on my path. The logic and creativity of programming clicked with me, and I knew I had found my calling.

Heartland Community College

My journey continued at Illinois State University, where I dove headfirst into computer science and web development. I built websites, applications, and even a few games. I collaborated with classmates and professors on exciting projects, and I even had the opportunity to help a local aviation museum redesign their website. I spent many late nights in the computer lab, fueled by coffee and a desire to learn.

Illinois State University

Through these experiences, I have developed a deep love for software development, and I am always looking for new challenges and opportunities to grow my skills and knowledge.

Skills

  • Languages

    PHP, JavaScript, Python, C/C++, Java, Dart, Shell

  • Frameworks

    Drupal, WordPress, Laravel, Symfony, Vue.js/Nuxt, React/Next.js, Flutter, Flask

  • Platforms

    GCP/Firebase, Pantheon, Cloudflare, DigitalOcean, AWS, Vercel, Azure

  • Other

    Figma/Adobe, Git, Vim, Claude & more!

Education

Illinois State University

Bachelor's in Computer Science - Web Computing • May 2021

Heartland Community College

Associate in Science • December 2018

Experience

Lead Web Developer, Surface 51

May 2025 - Present

  • Advise on requirement gathering for new clients during discovery meetings, ensuring proposed infrastructure meets performance and security requirements.
  • Conduct comprehensive code reviews to ensure adherence to coding standards and optimize performance, and develop detailed specification sheets for new projects.
  • Lead research and implementation of modern web technologies, improving developer experience and project delivery times.

Web Systems Developer, Surface 51

June 2021 - May 2025

  • Developed and maintained more than 30 WordPress and Drupal websites, including custom modules, plugins, and themes.
  • Built full-stack mobile applications for iOS and Android using Flutter and Firebase.
  • Led a project to reduce compute time on an expensive API call for a heavily trafficked application, improving response time by over 95%.

Illinois State University - Office of Web & Interactive Communication

May 2019 - May 2021

  • Contributed to long-standing projects including the college's homepage, internal networking tools, and student dashboard applications.
  • Refactored Angular applications to Vue.js, improving performance and maintainability.
  • Maintained code quality by integrating PHPCS into the pipeline, and created a new developer onboarding tutorial with a testing suite, example modules, style guides, and linting/formatting/LSP setup.

Illinois State University - Administrative Technologies

January 2019 - May 2019

  • Diagnosed technical support issues over the phone and in person, and handled hardware/software deployment and equipment auditing.

For a more detailed look at my work history, check out my LinkedIn profile or download my resume below.

Download résumé (PDF)