I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself; I’m Jess and I’m a Computer Science student at Oregon State University, pursuing a career in Software Engineering.

My path to Software Engineering has been a bit nontraditional; I obtained my first bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with concentrations in Human Resources Management and Management Information Systems (MIS) from Gonzaga University, and began my career journey by working in Human Resources for a number of years. In the MIS portion of my degree, I was exposed to the world of Computer Science (learning about databases, some java, web development, and so forth) and, in the years following, felt myself getting pulled back to Computer Science and wanting to learn more. This led me to finding the post-bacc program at Oregon State University where I am currently enrolled in my final term.

I was able to take a big step forward in this journey by leaving my job as a Human Resources Generalist to work as a Software Development Engineer Intern this past summer. I truly enjoyed the opportunity to apply what I have been learning as a student in a “real-world” environment and am excited to return as a full-time engineer following graduation.

Outside of school, I enjoy traveling, theater, and outdoor activities. I also love reading and spending time with my cats, Mickey Meowse and Hamilton (pictured below).  

I will be sharing more about my journey to Software Engineering and my final class as a student here in this blog. Stay tuned!