People always ask me, "How's your fellowship going? Do you like where you're at? How are you doing?" And to that I say, every time, without hesitation, "I am THRIVING."
My entire life I have craved a sense of simplicity and normalcy. Parents still together, siblings who were more regularly spaced in age from me, a brother who didn't struggle with addiction, extended family that displayed unconditional love instead of a thirst for gossip and drama, a marriage before kids, a normal job instead of a 5:30am-5:30pm 6 days a week. Ehh...you get the idea. This life I have lived has been splattered with so much hardship and difficulty, it seemed like nothing would ever just be simple or normal. So, after having kids I dedicated everything I had in me to living as close to a normal and simple life as possible. And it seems I've finally made it.
Being paired with Code/+/Trust has been nothing short of an extreme blessing. The company is small and intimate and every single person is kind and genuinely cares about the work that they put out which makes it that much easier to get to know others and learn from them. The company culture is extremely relaxed, no one is micromanaging anyone else, and everyone is treated as an adult who knows how to get their work done well and on time.
Hart is our project manager and he is one of the kindest people I've ever met (which is saying a lot because we both worked in food and bev for way too long and it's a miracle neither of us has become jaded, bitter, and mean). He checks in with us three times a day and genuinely cares if we're okay and what kind of a time we're having. The incredible thing is that it is not just a routine he keeps with us, it's something he does for everyone in the office. Cultivating that kind of culture and environment is no small feat for one person and I am so grateful for it. He's even gone out on a limb for all the newer hires and interns, making sure we get to experience exactly what it's like to build out a project from phase I with a current project pitched by one of the interns. That experience will surely be invaluable.
TJ and Jordan have taken us under their wing with a project built completely for us. They've taken one of the company's current projects and scaled it back as a rebuild for the interns as a way to be thoroughly immersed in React, a language that was completely new to us, while still having some guardrails in place; us having the ability to look at the program that has already been built. We were given comps and meet twice a week, once at the beginning to go over what each of us will be working on that week and once at the end for a code review. They're always willing to take time to sit with us and work through problems and answer any questions we may have.
So far we have had one happy hour event and it was such a blast. We have another one coming up with Charleston Women in Tech that is going to be so much fun. We were featured in a press release on the website, and we even got to sit down and interview Chris, the COO, who shared his passions about development and joining clients as a team working toward the same goal from day one. It has been easy with us to have one on one conversations with just about everyone on the team and I've already learned so much. Around the 3-4 month mark is when we'll be entrusted to work on client projects on our own and I can't wait.
If I had to say my favorite part so far it would be working closely with the new hires. Emmanuel and Randy have been vital to my success. They are funny, friendly, kind, knowledgeable, and so patient. Having others who are also new to the team has really taken the pressure off and given me the ability to let my guard down and be more comfortable not only as a developer but as myself. It has also given me the ability to have more exposure to front and back end development which I am extremely excited about.
So no, it is not the fact that our hours are extremely flexible, we can work from home when necessary, we can crack open a beer at 10 am if it's just one of those days, there's cold brew on tap, a plethora of snacks and unlimited La Croix (please sponsor us), or the fact that the Christmas parties are next level. In the end it's the generosity of the people who devote their time and energy to us that have given me that ability to thrive.
Comments