Get into my brain
Published
After getting my computer science degree from Duke in 2015, I joined Google as a software engineer and co-founded Dancing Pineapple. These first two years in tech and music were filled with a rapid succession of ups and downs, and plenty of hard-won lessons.
I know that these lessons would have been really useful for me after my own graduation, so I decided to take some time to share some actionable advice for those of you just starting out in the real world.
Here's what I've done so far.
Front-End Software Engineer (Lead), Since Fall 2015
New York, NY
My team works on building amazing user experiences for Google Cloud users.
I helped carry out the top-to-bottom redesign and implementation of Cloud Datastore's UI, and currently lead the front-end team of Google's Cloud SQL product. March 2017, we launched our PostgreSQL offering – which increased Cloud SQL's total addressable market by ~40%.
Co-founder & Partner, Founded 2014
Los Angeles & New York
Dancing Pineapple curates electronic music and hosts fun, intimate concerts in New York and Los Angeles. Our goal is to share music and experiences that make people happy. A portion of the proceeds from our events go to supporting youth music education via Little Kids Rock.
B.S. in Computer Science, earned May 2015
Durham, North Carolina
Duke presented unprecedented scale and diversity of opportunity. My four years of phenomenal professors across the disciplines pushed me to expand, challenge, and adjust my worldview. My experience dancing with DefMo showed me the power of empathetic leadership and expanded my artistic comfort zone. My tenure throwing major, campus-wide events validated that quality stems from attention to detail. My junior fall semester abroad at London's UCL humbled me to explore my place in the world. My engagement in Duke's tech & innovation initiatives exercised my creative muscle, sparked my obsession with design, and strengthened my tolerance to adversity.
Duke showed me what I love to do, gifted me with a love for learning, and surrounded me with a wealth of inspiring peers.
Software Engineering Intern, Summer 2014
New York, NY
This summer was a rite of passage into software engineering professionalism. Google's crash-course seminars opened my eyes to exciting new fields, the customer-driven culture taught me that empathy matters so much, time well spent. Developers and designers blew me away with their willingness to share their time and wisdom. The trust my teammates placed in me did wonders for my confidence in writing quality software. I continue to be inspired by this company today.
Front-end Engineering Intern, Summer 2013
Palo Alto, California
Flipboard taught me to surround myself with people who pushed me to my limits. The summer hacking alongside brilliant engineers, shadowing masterful designers, and helping direct projects laid the foundation for my software-engineering career. I'm grateful for the time I spent with these folks, whose work gave me a glimpse into the challenges and rewards of a startup employee's life.
Duke Ambassador & Tech Research Intern, Early Summer 2013
Kunshan, Jiangsu Province, China
Duke gave me the opportunity to travel to China as their ambassador (and its then under-construction China campus), with the mission of strengthening Duke's ties with the Kunshan locality. Energizing discussions with both local government and DKU officials awakened me to Duke's potential to transform Kushan into an international intellectual hotspot. Working at the city's Industrial Technology Research Institute afforded me opportunities to explore the inner-workings of leading Chinese startups. The trip, which included visits to several Chinese cities, deepened my appreciation for my family heritage.
Product Growth Intern, Summer 2012
San Francisco, CA
I was the first, lucky intern to work with Pocket's small, brilliant team. During these couple of months, I queried SQL data to create user analytics reports, implemented initiatives to guide product launches using A/B test results, designed Google Analytics dashboards, aided with community support, and participated in the product design process. This startup crash-course of a summer flooded me with opportunities to osmose bits of wisdom from founders, engineers, investors, and other leaders of the Valley.
Class of 2011
Aurora, IL
I'm grateful for these three years away from home. IMSA was where I learned how to articulate my ideas (as head of the school newspaper), competed thrice in state championships (as tennis captain), fell in love with learning, facilitated service events for the local community, designed a leadership development program for underclassmen, and discovered a passion for the arts.
Art means the world to me.
Let's run the dance floor, talk stage design, draft an idea on Sketch, and belt 90s R&B jams.
Here are some snaps I took before graduating college.
I'm Chicago-bred,
wander Coast to Coast,and take bribes in
the form of Korean barbeque.
Let's get in touch. LinkedIn messages work best.
