My Story
Brett has worked for ILM Professional Services since 2014 and has 11 years of experience in software development. He started in web development over 6 years ago focused primary on the Microsoft stack. As technology has continued to evolve, He’s worked to keep up with it and to grow my skill set to include the full web stack, mobile development with Xaramin, cloud solutions, and both client and server side JavaScript development. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Computer Science at Luther College.
A Few Questions About Brett
When did you first get started or interested in programming?
Python was the 1st programming class that I took in college. Programming was not my major at the time, but I enjoyed using that language anyway. That college was full of really good teachers, and so an early project that I worked on was making a simplified version of the video game, Frogger.
Even before I went to college, I was interested in computers. My dad worked in R&D at IBM, so I always considered working on computers since I was in high school.
What’s one project that you’ve worked on which you’re most proud of?
It was a Thomson Reuters project. It was a change process that needed to be implemented. It had originally been a heavily manual process and now there would be minimal work to do upfront. The entire process would get improved. Originally, there were tons of records that needed to get reviewed, page-by-page, but by using C# and Azure Durable Functions, the user experience greatly improved. It provided adaptability, a new framework and it’s easy to learn.
What are your top skills or key talents?
I’ve found that running, brewing beer and music have helped me to focus on doing better, improving things, and having a growth mindset.
What do you do to keep up with the latest programming and industry news?
I follow people on Twitter that work at Microsoft, and other industry leaders, I read blogs, I watch Pluralsight and Frontend Masters videos, attend conferences and check out what trending topics are happening at other conferences to stay up to date on what’s new.
I’m not much of a book person, especially because by the time that you read them, they are generally out of date. Something else that I enjoy is creating demo applications, using React or whatever else I’m learning or trying to improve on at the time, like an app pacing tool for runners.
Are you an introvert or an extrovert?
I’m in the middle, between an introvert and an extrovert. I’m an ambivert.
When it comes to icebreakers, what’s your go-to approach to start a conversation?
I will ask people about music, what do they like or listen to. Then I may ask about what hobbies they have or are into. Then, depending on the circumstances, I might ask how they know the person that’s hosting the event, because it may be a mutual acquaintance.
What kind of hobbies and interests do you have outside of work?
I’m interested in long-distance running, playing video games, and spending time with my daughter. I also have an interest in music, whether it’s singing in a choir (I’m married to a choir director) or playing either the saxophone or bagpipes.
I also enjoy smoking meats, charcoal grilling, and I’ve even done some beer brewing. In fact, I created an IoT (Internet of Things) device that monitors the temperature of beer while it’s brewing, using Azure. What happens is that I’m texted an alert if the temperature changes into an unsafe range.
Tagline: Inspire by example.