Having a special name can be a gift and a curse — take it from someone named after one of the greatest and most famous basketball players of all time, and also one of today’s most popular film actors.
But if Michael Jordan could tell Cassandra Champagne anything, it’s would be that she should raise a glass to herself and toast to the opportunity to create her own path, as she’s already doing by graduating from DigitalCrafts’ Full Stack Flex Program at the end of July. No, even I can’t help myself when it comes to having a little fun with a name.
A self-described “avid reader” who earned a B.A. in English and secondary education from Keene State College in Keene, New Hampshire, Champagne says technology has always been a familiar and comforting part of her life.
“It’s been amazing to watch it continue to grow to the point that it’s now part of everyone else’s life as well,” she says. “I’ve always had a drive to help people and I know that there is so much opportunity in the technology field for me to do that. As a developer, I’ve realized I can combine my technical knowledge with my creativity to create products that can somehow better the world, or just make a person’s everyday life a little easier.”
Learn more about Cassandra Champagne below.
What startup/tech projects have you worked on?
My first front-end project at DigitalCrafts was Clear Dark Sky, a website that helps users find the best time for stargazing based on their local conditions. I really enjoyed working on this project because the astronomy theme really allowed me to explore some creative design options. I love space and I found so many beautiful images I couldn’t decide on just one. So I wrote some JavaScript that would randomly choose one of five space images for the page’s main header. Problem solved, and I got to use all of the great images I found.
What tech/tools are essential to you as a developer?
I absolutely love VSCode. When I was thinking about going back into coding, I fully imagined myself writing everything up in Notepad the same way I used to as a kid when I’d make my own websites for fun. I am an extremely visual person and the color coding in VSCode really helps me keep my code clean and easy to read.
How do you stay informed & on-top of emerging trends?
I’m an avid reader so I’ve subscribed to quite a few newsletters like Women Who Code or StatusCode and I enjoy reading Hacker News when I have the time. I also enjoy looking through various Slack channels like tech404 and reading the conversations people are having there. It’s always exciting when I see someone talk about something that I’ve recently learned. I’m always curious to hear more about the current trends as things seem to change quickly.
What are your best technical or creative skills?
I love problem solving and debugging. I’m usually the first one to notice the small error or typo that’s causing code to break or not run. I also have excellent research skills and can usually find the right resource to get myself out of a problem I’m seeing.
What’s next on your list to learn?
I’m really interested in learning more about best practices when it comes to front-end development and what other technologies are out there. I’ve heard a bit about Sass and Less and want to explore those. I’m also really interested in learning more about web accessibility and using those standards to make my products equally available to everyone.
Are you interested in working for a startup, mid-sized company, or a corporate giant?
I’m open to startups because there is a lot of energy and excitement there in starting something new. I would also be comfortable working in a mid-sized company as it has the best balance of structure and working in close-knit teams.
Interested in looking at Cassandra’s credentials? Here you go! GitHub, Portfolio, and LinkedIn.
