Quick Facts
- My name is pronounced “Odd-ra.” You can call me Aud. My pronouns are “she/her.”
- I married my high school sweetheart, Dex. We have two dog daughters, Juniper Rose “Juju” the whippet pup, and Ally the shiba inu mix.
- My areas of random genius are crochet, fish-keeping, and literature.
- I'm a voracious reader. Want to see what I'm reading currently? Check out my StoryGraph.
- I live in Colorful Colorado, at the base of Pikes Peak.
- “Witchcraft!” is Aud-speak for “Oooh, that’s neat!”
Tech Journey
After playing with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript on and off for over a decade, I finally decided to get serious about code in 2019. I enrolled in Flatiron School's Full Stack Web Development course and set out to learn as much as I possibly could. After completing their program, I continued with my studies as I sought my first dev role.
In October 2020, I joined Raise.dev as a software engineer. I worked across the stack, learning the ins and outs of the app as well as the powerful tools that it is built upon.
One of my main goals at Raise was to learn and practice test-driven development with RSpec. This spurred one of my favorite projects, building a Minesweeper clone using TDD and object-oriented programming... all while live-streaming on Twitch.
🥰 What I love about coding
- The best part of programming is the puzzle. Everything is more complicated than it seems at first glance, but the payoff when a tricky concept clicks into place is worth it every time. 💡
- I have the pleasure of interacting with an amazing and diverse community every day! Work is a thing we have to do to survive (💯 I'd totally retire if I won the lottery), but the friendships I've made since entering this industry an an overwhelming source of the joy for me.
- I am a firm believer in having a growth mindset. Every time I say, “I don’t know,” my mind automatically adds a parenthetical “yet.” The beauty of this industry is it's so broad that I know I'll always be learning something new.
The Bigger Picture
We all know life exists outside tech. Previous career experiences that inform my work include an undergrad in English literature, managing a multi-million dollar roofing company, trying my hand at entrepreneurship, and my stint as a second-grade public school teacher.
I'm a fifth-generation Coloradan, born from a long line of ranchers. While I've actively worked to retrain my brain from some of the "rub some dirt in it" cowboy mentality, my love for family, the land, and all the creatures on it stem from my upbringing. I was lucky to grow up with easy access to the wilderness, the opportunity to care for a host of amazing animals, and the freedom to explore and learn about the world around me. As fun as coding is, my first true love will always be Mama Nature.
In addition to my love of the natural world, I am obsessed with crafts, especially the fiber arts. Crochet is my area of expertise, with a king-sized MooglyCal afghan as the height of my achievement. Additionally, you'll find me randomly making ornaments for my Yule tree, an assortment of decorations and costumes for my annual Samhain party, and any other creative bit of fun I can think of. Check out my Pinterest to see what crafts I'm currently pursuing (hint: it's usually more crochet). 🧶
🚀 What motivates me
- I want to make a difference. As difficult as teaching was, I never doubted why I did it. I constantly seek that same feeling of doing my part to make this world a better place, no matter what career choices I make.
- The weekend. Really. I want to wrap up as much as I can during the week so I can 100% focus on my family outside of working hours.
- Travel. I love exploring new places, especially any place with a temperate climate and good snorkeling.
- Making friends and developing relationships. My best friend’s go-to line is, “How can I support your success?” and I’ve adopted that as my approach as well, though I don’t often verbalize it. I want to be your friend and see you succeed, so always reach out if you think I can help you!