I'm 24 years old
I'm a software delivery team lead
I live in Edinburgh with my cat, Poppy
I grew up in the Scottish Borders
I've been playing piano since I was 6 years old
I love making digital art in my free time
Through my work, I have come to value:
Attitude over ability
Team players over solo artists
Honesty and progress over comfort and routine
User satisfaction over technical perfection
Kindness over everything
Joined Forrit as an Apprentice Web Developer
Sat 3 Microsoft Technology Associate exams
Completed an SCQF Level 6 in IT & Telecommunications
Wrote a technical report and led training sessions on Web Accessibility
Built an internal link localisation tool for developer use
Became regularly involved in client communications
Designed and built a localisation tool for client use
Visited Microsoft HQ in Redmond, WA
Led the annual Web Accessibility audit
Won the ScotlandIS Digital Technology Awards "Unsung Hero" Award
Began designing a new and improved localisation tool for my Honours project
Graduated from Edinburgh Napier University with a First Class BSc (Hons) Software Development
Started my current role as Delivery Team Lead
Worked with a talented team of devs to build my Honours project
Mentoring others through Forrit's apprenticeship programme
Collaborating with teams across Forrit to help design new platform features
Refining and documenting our processes and solutions
See the Pen Rubiks Cube by monicarichardson (@monicarichardson) on CodePen.
Most of the code I've written over the years has been for Forrit and its clients
However, you can take a look at some of my university work here
I also have a humble Codepen library, where I mess around in my spare time
If you're interested in the code behind this website, say no more
I may have completed my Graduate Apprenticeship, but I'll always consider myself an apprentice in the infinite dojo of programming! If you have time to review and provide feedback on my code, I'd be eternally grateful
In August 2020 I wrote an article for The Scotsman on bridging the gender gap in the Tech Industry.
In October 2020 I was named ScotlandIS Digital Technology Awards "Unsung Hero" - I was nominated by Forrit for my efforts in promoting apprenticeships and speaking out about the gender gap in the Tech Industry. In their nomination, Forrit cited the school talks, articles and interviews I've done on these topics which are deeply important to me.
After graduating from Edinburgh Napier University in October 2021 I was invited by the former Dean of the School of Computing, Sally Smith, to join the steering group for the "Women Into Tech" research project.
I'm always up for a coffee and a chat. Pop me a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can!