Growing up in a working-class family in one of the least educated areas of the country, the odds were stacked against me.
Despite this, I had the drive to succeed and was always intrigued by the tech industry. Pursuing this passion, I studied Software Engineering at university and started my career as a software developer for a small company, churning out code, fixing bugs and wondering how I could use my programming powers for good. The transition to my integration developer position at the Sheffield College provided me with the job satisfaction I craved. In this role, I continued to write code, but now it was to support the learning of young people. My start at Sheffield College was quickly followed by the pandemic which gave me the opportunity to modernise the way our courses were delivered, implementing online learning tools that enabled teaching staff to create interactive and effective online classes. I thoroughly enjoyed this role, and it was difficult to leave when the position of Software Engineering coach at Multiverse opened up. Nonetheless, joining Multiverse gave me the chance to utilise my software engineering expertise to support more people than I ever imagined. As a Software Engineering Coach, I help apprentices build their technical knowledge while navigating the complexities of the working world. I support them through their ups and downs, and it fills me with pride to watch them begin their careers as fully-fledged software engineers.