Welcome to Best.Day.Ever.’s “Ask Me Anything” style blog, where we spotlight our incredible team members and their unique journeys. Today, we’re thrilled to introduce you to Stella, our brilliant Software Engineer who brings innovation and passion to every project.
At Best.Day.Ever., we pride ourselves on creating memorable experiences and top-notch events, but none of this would be possible without the talent and dedication of our amazing team. Our AMA series aims to give you an inside look at the people behind the scenes who make our company truly special. Each of our team members has a unique story, and their individual contributions help shape the success of our events.
Stella has been an integral part of our team, bringing her technical expertise and creative problem-solving skills to every project she tackles. Her journey into software engineering is both inspiring and insightful, showcasing the determination and passion needed to excel in this ever-evolving field. With a background that combines a love for technology with a knack for innovative solutions, Stella has made significant strides in developing our platform and ensuring seamless event experiences for our clients.
Q1 — Stella, can you tell us about your journey into software engineering? What inspired you to pursue this career?
Absolutely! I was always playing on my computer since I was young. My father taught me how to use Photoshop when I was in 4th or 5th grade, and I started learning HTML/CSS on my own because I wanted to post my Photoshop works on a customized blog. There were no programming classes in my middle school and high school, so I never got a chance to actually learn programming until undergraduate. I majored in Economics, but I started taking Computer Science courses out of curiosity since I knew how to do basic web design. I enjoyed programming more than anything else, so I decided to attend a coding bootcamp after graduating with an Economics degree and eventually pursued a Master’s in Computer Science to deepen my knowledge.
Q2 — Can you tell us about the process and success of building the activations for WMPO?
We first need to understand what the client wants and the specifics of the event since our platform offers different games for various sports and tournaments. Once we figure that out, we check on the customizations we want to provide. For WMPO, we added custom designs using their signature colors and logos and used APIs to pull in tournament scores for real-time updates on our platform, making the event more enjoyable. The key to success in building these activations is understanding how the event will be held offline. My role is to ensure our platform is perfect for that.
Q3 — Can you describe your development workflow? What tools and processes do you use?
I always start by making a list of what I need to do. Software engineering is like building a home, so I focus on the foundation first before adding any additional designs. I typically have the backend functions ready and test them to ensure I can get or process the necessary data. During this process, I keep the frontend simple to easily check if the functions are running correctly. Then, I build the frontend design based on the mockup and design requests. I do all my coding on VS Code, which is a popular code editor with many helpful plugins. I use Git to track and save my progress, and it’s also useful for separating code for different purposes, such as sandbox updates that we don’t want in our production platform yet. Our database is handled by PostgreSQL. So, the tools I use every day are VS Code for coding, Terminal to run Git, and pgAdmin to work on the database.
Q4 — How do you approach problem-solving and debugging in your projects?
The most important part of debugging is making the code readable in the first place. I try to write my code in an organized manner so I can understand how each line works and the logic behind it. This way, I can often pinpoint the specific function causing the issue in thousands of lines of code. When it’s hard to find the problem, logging is the best solution. I add logs to every step of the feature with the issue, allowing me to identify problems like data not being sent or holes in the logic. Once I locate the problem, solving it becomes much easier.
Q5 — What advice would you give to someone looking to start a career in software engineering today?
Find areas that you truly enjoy. There are so many paths in software engineering, and I had concerns about what I wanted to do. I tried multiple programming languages, worked on both frontend and backend, and explored machine learning and other areas. Because this field is always changing, it’s hard to keep up unless you genuinely enjoy and are interested in what you’re doing. I became a full-stack engineer because I felt more comfortable being in charge of both sides. Some people may prefer focusing on one area. It’s good to try many things when starting out and then find the one or two that really speak to you.
Q6 — What do you enjoy most about working at Best.Day.Ever.?
What I love most about Best.Day.Ever. is communication. It can be difficult to explain what’s happening on the software side to everyone else, which can cause misunderstandings about why certain problems occur or why some features need more time to implement. I believe we have the best team to figure all this out. I share my vision as a software engineer and explain how the logic works in the source code. Then, Patrick and Jeremy share their visions as admins using the platform to run events. Talking through everything we want to build and fix gives me a clear goal on what I need to do, and this has made me enjoy all the projects I’ve done at Best.Day.Ever.
