Hi! I'm Sarah.
I am a passionate web developer with a love for creating beautiful, functional, and accessible web applications.
I believe in the power of technology to make a positive impact on the world.
A bit about me
I have always loved puzzles, but my route to web development was circuitous.
Shortly after college, I landed a job I adored running youth programs at a major public library. The work was meaningful and energizing, but the part-time, grant-funded nature of the role pushed me to consider a more sustainable path.
I opted to follow a different passion, quit the job, and moved to Chicago to play roller derby at the highest competitive level. To support that dream, I stepped into a role in the financial industry—one that gave me the flexibility and stability to travel the world competing.
After I hung up my skates and moved across the country to Austin, TX, I realized I wanted a career that combined my love of helping others with my drive for continuous learning. That search led me to a coding bootcamp, where I immediately fell in love with the process of building things and solving problems in creative, logical ways.
I took the leap, left finance behind, and committed to web development full-time. Since then, I've had the privilege of learning from incredible mentors — some expected, some delightfully unexpected. My learning journey is still unfolding, and I'm consistently inspired by the people and challenges I encounter along the way.
My educational journey
Just having a diploma doesn't cut it in this industry.
I am a lifelong learner, always seeking new opportunities to level up my skills and expand what I can build.
Bachelor's Degree
I grew up believing education opened doors, so I pursued what I loved most—literature and writing. I earned my English degree from the University of Minnesota, along with minors in Native American Studies and Global Studies. My time at the University of Minnesota taught me to think critically, communicate effectively, and approach problems with creativity and empathy. Those same skills now anchor the way I approach problem-solving and collaboration as a web developer.
Bootcamp
I came into coding fresh but ready to grind. We sped through HTML and CSS before diving deep into JavaScript and React, with a taste of backend development using Node.js, Express, and MongoDB. The pace was intense, but I thrived. By the end of six months, I felt cautiously, but genuinely, ready to step into the world of web development.
DrupalEasy
Six months into unemployment, I took a chance on a specialized internship. A partner company would fund a three-month online Drupal intensive and bring me on as an intern for another three. I had never even heard of Drupal, but Mike Anello's course (along with the amazing mentorship of Alex Jones) got me up to speed fast. By the time I joined Palantir.net. By the time I was hired at the end of my internship, I was already contributing JavaScript expertise to a breakthrough collaborative editing module. I was hired full-time at the end of the internship.
Cook Systems
Midway through my bootcamp, the job market tightened as seasoned engineers flooded the field after major tech layoffs. I was deep in the apply-network-interview cycle when Cook Systems offered a structured learning program paired with job placement support. I jumped in and kept sharpening my skills while searching for the right opportunity.
Some of my recent projects
I always have several things happening at once, as I tend to thrive in chaos.
Check out the sites, coding puzzles, documentation, and volunteer work I've been doing lately.
Puppalooza
When our foster pup unexpectedly turned out to be pregnant, I did what any developer faced with ten newborn puppies would do — I built a website. The goal was simple: quickly create a platform to showcase each puppy and connect potential adopters with rescue resources.
Learn MoreUSWDS Dynamic Tooltip
While developing a feature for a client website, I identified that the U.S. Web Design System (USWDS) Tooltip component couldn't dynamically update text, limiting user guidance and accessibility. Instead of building a custom solution under tight deadline constraints, I dug into the USWDS source code, wrote a patch to enable dynamic tooltip functionality, and contributed it back to the open-source project.
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