About me / Who am I?

about johnI was born and raised in the one and only Chicago, and moved to Knoxville, Tenn., with my mom at 14. For as long as I can remember, I've loved electronics and computers. My mom and sisters love to tell crazy stories of how I would take apart remotes and VCRs - and put them back together correctly - when I was just 4 or 5. I could fix almost anything.

Where I started

When I was 12, my dad bought me my first computer, and I found my first love. More than what the computer could do, I was intrigued by how the computer worked. So I set out to understand everything I could about it, even how to build them. (To this day, it's a hobby of mine.) While most kids got monster trucks for Christmas, I got the book "How Things Work."

When I was 13, I created my first batch (.bat) file and wrote a small script to move files around. That day, I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I started buying C++ books and writing small programs to do random things. I did this for four years, switching languages and environments until I found something I loved, C# and web development.

Why I'm here

At 17, I started my first development position with Focal Point Technologies, where I spent time in a diverse environment learning the importance of web standards, including the separation of content, presentation and behavior. It was here that I really fell in love with web design and enhancing the user experience. After graduating high school and starting my college career at ITT Tech, I was hired at Cadre5, also as a developer.

Today, I spend my days learning everything I can-both in and out of the classroom-about web development. In addition to my schoolwork and part-time position, I love taking on challenging freelance jobs to round out my experience and share my expertise with up and coming companies. I'm not going to lie-I also enjoy my free time, which is usually spent working out, gaming with friends, snowboarding and going out for sushi.