How long have you worked at Brightspot? What brought you here?
I’ve been at Brightspot for almost four years, starting in June 2021 right after graduating from James Madison University. I discovered the company at a JMU career fair and pursued the opportunity because it felt like a supportive place to begin my career. During the interview process, I met several team members who had also joined right out of college and had stayed with the company for years. That sense of continuity and their welcoming attitude really encouraged me to move forward.
What do you enjoy most about your role as a software engineer? What do you find most challenging?
As a software engineer, I love solving problems for our customers. It’s rewarding to take a challenge and design a solution that’s creative, simple and effective. Every day, I get to help people and make their jobs easier through the updates I build into our software. An editor from one of our customer projects, who uses the CMS daily, joins most of our meetings. It’s always encouraging when I hear directly from him that something I’ve built has improved his team’s publishing workflows and processes. On the flip side, when something isn’t working, I enjoy the challenge of fixing it and making sure our tools are running smoothly.
What I find most challenging is tackling something unfamiliar. As a team leader, I’m often the go-to person for questions from external teams, and I don’t always have the answer right away. That can feel overwhelming at times. But I try to view those moments as learning opportunities — for both me and the people I’m supporting.
What inspired you to become a software engineer?
That’s a good question. I struggled for a while to figure out what I wanted to study in college. I had taken a computer science class in high school, but at the time it didn’t feel like the right fit. I didn’t think I knew enough to be there, and being the only girl in the room made me feel out of place.
In college, I changed my major several times. By sophomore year, I still wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, and I ended up enrolling in a computer science class just to fill some credits. That class ended up being a turning point — it was taught by a female professor who actively championed women and underrepresented students in the field. She encouraged us to stick with it, and I also made some friends in the class.
Without the pressure of feeling like I didn’t belong, I was able to focus on the material — and I realized I genuinely enjoyed programming and logic. I changed my major that semester and never looked back. I’m so glad I stayed with it and ultimately pursued a career as a software engineer.
Is there a particular project that you’ve worked on or a specific feature that you’ve built that you are most proud of?
So, I’ve worked on the same team for most of my time at Brightspot and I’ve taken ownership of the translation integration of their CMS. Because they’re a global organization, translation is a huge and important part of their workflow and it needs to function seamlessly and easily for editors in order for their entire experience to work properly. So, I’ve worked a lot on translation and I’m very proud of the progress that I’ve made there.
How have you grown professionally since starting at Brightspot?
I’ve grown a lot since starting at Brightspot. When I joined, I was brand new to both web and software development, so much of my foundational knowledge has been shaped by my experience here. My team and my manager have played a big role in helping me develop my skills. Now, I’m at a point where I can take what I’ve learned and contribute more meaningfully — both by supporting my team and by helping others grow, which has been really rewarding.
I’ve also challenged myself to keep learning outside of work. Last year, I earned the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner certification, which helped me build new skills and become a more well-rounded developer. Gaining that knowledge has made me feel more empowered and confident, and I’ve been able to apply what I’ve learned to the solutions we build as a team.
In June 2022, you traveled to Orlando to volunteer with your co-workers at the Special Olympics USA Games. Can you tell me more about what that experience meant to you?
This was definitely one of the coolest experiences that I’ve had at Brightspot. The 2022 Special Olympics USA Games were such a cool environment and the energy was electric and fun and just celebratory of all the hard work that the athletes have put in. Our group was in charge of the awards ceremonies and it was so inspiring to see athletes celebrate their accomplishments. I got to talk to a lot of them about their journeys as they were waiting in line for their ceremonies to happen. I was completely blown away by the effort and dedication that it took to get there. It was also just such a nice experience to get to know some co-workers better and make new friends. It was definitely a little bit outside of my comfort zone to travel with people that I didn’t know super well, but it was such a fun experience that I would recommend it to anyone at Brightspot.
Besides the people, what is your favorite part about working at Brightspot?
I think my favorite part is the opportunities for learning and growth that are here at Brightspot. I’ve grown by leaps and bounds as a software engineer here. Everyone in the office and those who are remote are always willing to help explain things that are new to me. I’ve been able to learn a lot by reaching out and asking questions to developers who are more experienced than I am. Our educational stipend is really great, too. I’ve been able to take online courses and I’ve been able to attend conferences that have made me a better developer.
What are your favorite activities or hobbies to do outside of the office?
I’m definitely very active outside the office. I love to read and spend time with family and friends. I also love to travel. Right now, though, I’m training for a half Ironman and that takes up the majority of my time outside of work. I started triathlon training in 2024 and have enjoyed getting better at swimming, biking and running. These hobbies are really fun and I love feeling strong and powerful and fast. This will be my first half Ironman and it’s going to be the longest distance that I’ve done by far. So, it’s challenging, but I’m looking forward to it.
What is your favorite movie of all time?
I’m not a huge movie person but, I do love plays and musicals. My preference for movies is always something with some singing in it. In high school I saw the 1961 movie version of Westside Story and loved it. I’ve seen it a million times since then and have gotten to see the stage production of Westside Story a couple of times, too. I always go back to that movie and put it on when I need something to sing along to.
If you could pick another role to try within Brightspot for one week, which would it be and why?
This one is tough because I love my job and my team, and I genuinely enjoy being a software engineer. That said, in my role, I spend a lot of time writing tests and doing manual testing before my code moves to the QA stage. I’ve found that I actually enjoy that part of the process — especially writing unit tests and making sure everything works as expected. So if I had to choose a different path, I think I’d enjoy being a QA engineer.
