I have a need to take something that's broken and figure out how to fix it. That's what drives me in programming, and working on solutions is how I learn best. My learning style can be very independent, which makes it possible to thoroughly enjoy taking new ideas and immersing myself in them until I have mastery. I also love being part of a community, and thrive on opportunities to learn from others. I love tech, startups, and innovation. I am inspired by people who put their everything into changing the world through their original ideas. That's why I am so attracted to the tech industry as it's solving our society's hardest problems. I am a teacher and philosopher by training until now, and I am addicted to programming. I wake up in the morning excited about the projects I plan to build that day and the new technologies I'll learn. Having studied philosophy at university, I found my way into teaching in 2009. I love philosophy and teaching for the same reasons I love coding - I like tackling unanswered questions and thinking about things in new ways. After teaching for a year in North Carolina, I lived and worked in South Korea for five years, and loved it. Before that, I lived in New Zealand for five years while at university. I lived in Philly 2017-2018 and adored the community there. I can never get enough of what human beings have to share with each other no matter where they are geographically. All of these places as part of me. Through all of my intense learning, programming and picking up new skills with a full time job 2017-2019, I am also a wife and a mom. I spent early mornings, nights, and weekends learning and coding while still making time to take my daughter to the playground and museums, helping her get ready for bed every night and taking her to classes at the art center. I still helped my husband, an immigrant from South Korea, enroll in and attend ESL classes. I somehow managed to still balance my family life with my career life. For that, I am proud. My family life drives my desire to learn and grow. It's not just about me anymore. I just want to find ways that my abilities can be used for good in the world and to have a feeling every day that what I am doing is driving progress.
When I am trying to make something I don’t know how to make, that’s really fun to me. I write out a plan to put forth how I want the user to experience the app and what results I want from it, imagining the functions, views and routes I’ll need. I like to make sure the problem I am trying to solve is clear and that what I am going to build will actually solve it. I like to write the basic code I need, knowing it will start off broken, and then work one by one on the errors and bugs until it’s working. I look up documentation and resources as I need that information, locating the code and solutions I need to make my features work. I go to meetups and ask other developers to help me when I am stuck. I know that no matter how unfamiliar the problem is, there’s somewhere on the internet that explains how to fix it or someone around me who knows. I just need persistence, and that will get me to my goal. To me, that’s an amazing feeling. I really look forward to finding mentors through this learning journey who can open my eyes to new ways of doing things.
"Emily and I worked together at the Flatiron School in DC, where she passionately helped students begin a new life coding. As a colleague, both her charm and dedication to her work were so contagious that it brought out the best in everyone in contact with her. Working with her also gave me the opportunity to she how she is constantly expanding her skills as a developer. Anyone who checks out her open source projects on GitHub will see that she has a keen eye for design and a strong knowledge of Ruby on Rails and JavaScript. More importantly, however, anyone can see that she has a strong drive to continue to grow and learn new technologies. She has the understanding and flexibility to learn *any* stack for *any* web app project. She's an excellent addition to *any* development team."
"I worked with Emily on the Admissions team for Flatiron School where she showed her passion for helping students change their lives. Emily has a wide range of experience -- now adding software engineering to her list as she began learning on her own part-time -- but the unifying thread is her drive to help others. Whatever she chooses to do, you can expect her to put openness and sincerity into her efforts."
"Emily doesn't just work to work, she deeply cares about helping other people and has the right personality and work ethic for it! Emily and I met while she was touring WeWork with a NYcda class and we immediately started thinking of ways our companies could partner. Since then we've worked closely to help her students improve their skills by working on real company problems and projects. I can't wait to see where this takes us! Thank you Emily!"
"Emily truly cares about building community and improving the experience of those around her. When we worked together at the New York Code and Design Academy, I saw firsthand each day how devoted she was to helping students in a number of capacities. Whether it was making sure that students were able to achieve academic goals, facilitating meaningful workshops and speaking engagements, or being an empathetic ear to struggling students, Emily made sure that everything she did was towards meeting the needs of each student. In her capacity as Community Manager she wore many hats; as the liaison between NYCDA and the students, she was highly organized and professional while also being proactive in addressing any student needs or interpersonal situations. I attended numerous networking events with Emily and witnessed how she was an advocate for the students and the organization. Her attention to detail, organization, outgoing personality, empathy, and professionalism make Emily very uniquely qualified for this position and I would recommend her for any community outreach, engagement, or related position."
"Ms. Jennings was one of our best English Native Teachers in our province that I had observed as a member of provincial education office for more than 7 years. I always heard about her reputation and excellence directly from her school students and teachers that I trusted. Also she gave us so much help when needed in administrative works of English education section such as running competitions, forums, and debates as well as numerous interviews in local governmental level. Although I am a different sector of business at this moment, I am very much sure that the education office always wants to have such cooperative, brilliant, and understanding foreign teachers for our kids like her."
What do you love about working in the tech industry?
I love feeling like I am part of a group that's really shaping the world around it. Tech startups especially blaze trails for all kinds of other companies and industries and make impacts far beyond the reach of their immediate business dealings. I also love being around non-lazy puzzle-solvers who just like to make things work!
What is the craziest thing you've ever done?
Moving to South Korea was easy, but the craziest thing was after living there for five years I decided to leave! I had a husband and baby. We sold almost all of our belongings in just a couple months. It was amazing allowing myself to let go of so many material things that I thought I "needed" and moving on!
What is the most creative thing you've ever done?
Creative endeavors are addictive for me. I created this website from scratch and I'm learning all the possibilities of software engineering. Beyond coding, I sew many of my own clothes and I have written short stories. One of the most creative and successful things I've ever done was write a short story that won an honorable mention in a prestigous short story contest. It was called The Hole in the Basement Closet and it was a surrealistic story about two cats trapped in a house who had strange relationships with a hole in the basement closet. All metaphors!
What gets you out of bed in the morning?
The opportunity to solve new puzzles, learn something new, and help others do the same! I also just look forward to laughing and hearing/experiencing great stories. Also, I get motivated for chance to change lives and to have someone change mine. In my life I seem to often find myself helping people thrive and guiding them through journeys of various levels of transformation. This is why I love working in education, but I know that this is a part of so many other fields of interesting work. I love people and I am inspired by the strengths of humanity. I am truly alive when I am connecting to people around me in meaningful ways. I enjoy situations where my patience is put to the test and I can discover my own abilities to solve problems in the moment.
What's your favorite place you've visited in the world?
Out of all the places I've been and lived, the town of Ubud, Bali is my favorite because of the incredible health foods and liberating activities there. One has no choice but to really reinvent themselves there! It's amazing being around others reinventing themselves while you're doing the same. Close second is Philly!
What surprised yourself most about being a mom?
Before I was a mom, I thought I was a strong, independent person. Now I know what strength really means. Everyday I become more aware of my abilities and my limits when I am helping this person grow. I am pushing myself to be better every day in all aspects of life because of her.