About me

When it comes down to it, you’ll see that I share the same values and passion for your project as you do for your business goals, and that I can bring your ideas to life.

I fell in love nearly 11 years ago, when I was 15. It started with simple HTML and quickly moved on to Javascript and Microsoft’s ASP (Active Server Pages) languages. I went from creating simple web-based scripts to track my time and friends in video games, to writing personal web applications to log my school and homework activities, so that I might find more efficient ways to fit fun in with education. I was obsessed. For me it was difficult to find activities that could compare to the satisfaction that was brought from my curiosity and thirst for creating software that no one had made before.

This was exciting new territory. In my studies I found it to be more efficient if I did schoolwork at my own pace, so I dropped out of high school and enrolled in a homeschooling program. At age 15 I got a full-time customer service job to support my textbook habit, and to purchase a car so that I would be able to drive 10 miles to Lake Michigan every day and study quietly on the shore at my favorite picnic table, an area known for its beautiful display of fireflies in the the warm summer months. As a result of my hobby, I graduated 2 years ahead of what private or public highschool would have allowed, and was the youngest person (at the time) to attend the ITT Technical Institute campus in Grand Rapids, Michigan, at 17.

My major at ITT was in computer science with a focus on computer networking systems. Early on I learned a great deal more than most developers do about how the internet and networking work at their core, as one of the few hobbyist programmers with certifications by CompTIA, including A+ (quite rare for a software geek). My development knowledge set me apart from my colleagues, as I was able to quickly write applications to automate some of the routine bottleneck tasks and pitfalls in our lessons, which had an impact on how their teachers instruct several classes even today. Writing monitoring software and complex database applications was extracurricular, but it rewarded me with a gain in intellectual popularity with the faculty and students. Staff and students alike came to me for help with some of the more difficult technical and social problems in the coursework. Later, I graduated from ITT in 2004 summa cum laude. In pursuit of my hands-on approach to learning, I personally worked with each and every one of my classmates over the years, and together we had the passion and knowledge to achieve the highest average GPA of any graduating class that year. I was fortunate enough to have been trained in a highly motivated and team based environment. The teachers and dean said my questions often warranted further research on their part.

I knew programming was what I wanted to do with my life; I had found my calling. This was back when Google was not yet a popular verb, and the Geek Squad was just a nickname for the lunch table I sat at. Word spread quickly that I was a young coder, and I began to pick up contracts and internship projects for the Kent County Chamber of Commerce and several small businesses in Grand Rapids. I remember being nervous on my way to present and deliver the software for my first contract, which was for P&M Engraving in Grand Rapids’ shopping district. They needed software to convert Quicken database exports (at the time only CSV was used) to update another application with budget information, which they used for warehousing and inventory ordering. I had no idea what to do, as I had never used either of these applications, so I took a methodical approach. I studied the documentation for each piece of software, and created a solution that would automatically update their inventory ordering applications with budget information in real-time. The solution worked perfectly, and their two-person operation avoided having to hire a third to fill the full-time role my software automated. It appeared that I was well suited for this career path, and having my skills needed felt good. This was immensely fulfilling and just the beginning to my professional career as a developer. I was hooked.

From contract to contract, I changed languages often; from Visual Basic for desktop software, to a combination of PHP, MySQL, and HTML for web-based client-server solutions. Though I am fluent in many programming, scripting, and markup languages, my true passion lies in web development, or more specifically the PHP language, as it powers 80% of the internet and is the most robust and dynamic server-side language available. Web development is important to me as it allows users to break free from a single computer, and access their customized software from anywhere in the world – that’s freedom. I enjoy mixing in new languages and development tools from time to time, such as Adobe Flash and standalone client-executed software. I have learned the zen-like mindset it takes to learn a new language, and having a deep understanding of the scaffolding common to all computer languages, I am able to teach myself new languages and concepts quickly as needed, as any good programmer who understands programming fundamentals should be able to do.

I wanted to program, and the best way to do this was to get my foot in the door at a company that did this full time. I moved on to work in an entry-level position with Global Futures & Forex, LTD (gftforex.com) with the goal of writing software in mind. GFT is a Futures and Forex trading company that transacts billions upon billions of dollars each day, so the background check, psychological evaluations, and three-person interview process took a few weeks to complete and decide upon. Anxiously waiting, I received that call that started my career with GFT, and at age 21 (the youngest person in the history of the company) I started at $11/hr answering phones as software support on second shift. As you can imagine, at 1 A.M., the calls came in slowly and I was soon permitted to write scripts requested by our customers in Australia and Singapore in an attempt to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty. Within the year I was team lead, and by my second year I was promoted to  a development specialist role (assessing needs, building software solutions for our VIP customers), and eventually in my third year I moved on to Quality Assurance Supervisor. I was soon allowed to fulfill my position away from the office, so I moved to Port Charlotte, Florida to be closer to family and to work from video conference, telephone, and email; all provided by GFT. I have been working from my home office with GFT for the last 2 years of my 5 year career with them. GFT is currently thriving, even in the middle of the recession, partly due to the fact that we diversify our customer base and are able to respond quickly to each of their needs. From 2005 to 2010 (the period I have worked at GFT), the company went from a ~30 person operation with software only for Windows XP, to a 300+ person family with financial platforms for every type of mobile phone, Mac, and PC, with offices in London, Dubai, Sydney, New York, Chicago, Tokyo, and Singapore – each employee and customer accessing software and scripts that I helped build.

Contact me with your project brief, and I will let you know what I can do for you. If I bid on it, know that it is because I am confident that I can complete the project within the given deadline, and can do a better job on it than anyone else. I am one of the few that are PHP 4 and PHP 5 ExpertRating certified. I don’t have the huge overhead that adds to costs that traditional design and development firms have, but will provide the same clean, beautiful code. I’m always looking for long-term projects as well, so continued support after the contract period is always offered.

Click here to view my profile! It’s the ‘net’s largest and most trusted escrow service, linking buyers with programmers.