Student to Web Developer - Week 8: The Adventures of U+'s Tech-Savvy Gang!
In this weekly roundup, the web development team at U+ shares their experiences, challenges, and lessons learned as they actively contribute to the organization’s goals and foster their professional growth.
Contributions to U+'s Goals
Breyanka delved into enhancing the organization’s online presence by incorporating new courses into the website, displaying adaptability and a learning mindset. She shares, “This project fostered an adaptability and learning mindset within myself, as it involved tackling a feature that was less familiar. Navigating and understanding templates allowed for a better approach to presenting course information on the website.”
Meanwhile, Gloriana worked on the Ignite Fair Volunteer Page, adhering to the website’s brand guide. She emphasizes, “This task had all the information needed for this volunteer opportunity, and I had to make sure to follow the brand guide of the website and that all the fonts, colors, and backgrounds were consistent.”
Addressing Challenges
Gloriana faced technical issues on the YRES website, hindering updates. She shares her approach, “We experimented a bit to determine the optimal number of editors the website could accommodate without causing crashes. This proactive approach helped establish a guideline for scheduling work on the website, ensuring smoother collaboration among team members.”
Similarly, Breyanka encountered issues due to a debugger but persevered. She reflects, “Last week, we had many issues with the website system, which made it almost impossible to make any changes to the YRES website. This was a huge drawback as we were not able to make any updates as well as share important information on the website. Recently, we were finally able to get everything up and running again, and this week the web developer team was able to get back on track and make necessary updates!”
Utilized Skills and Career Impact
Breyanka emphasized her technical and time management skills in working with WordPress, a crucial skill set for her future aspirations in web development. She shares, “The skill that I utilized the most this week was my technical skills and time management skills. As I continue to gain proficiency in WordPress, this will greatly benefit if I ever become a web developer.”
For Gloriana, research, web design proficiency, and collaborative efforts were pivotal in successfully incorporating new courses into web pages. She reflects, “Throughout the week, I actively applied and enhanced various skills that were important for the tasks at hand. My proficiency in web design was evident as I successfully incorporated new courses into both the YRES and U+ pages using WordPress templates.”
Notable Collaborations
Collaboration was key as Gloriana teamed up with Hugo to troubleshoot glitches on the YRES page, enhancing understanding of web development challenges. She highlights, “The interaction that stood out to me was with the web developer, Hugo. He lets me know what tasks I should be completing and always helps me out whenever I need assistance.”
Breyanka also highlighted the significance of communication and learning with Hugo, fostering a collaborative and knowledge-sharing environment. She adds, “Communication is crucial between me and Hugo because it is important he always knows what I am doing, and he can provide feedback when needed.”
Industry Insights and Career Alignment
The team gained insights into the dynamic nature of the web development industry. For Breyanka, adaptability stands out as a crucial skill that’s pivotal not just in web development but across various professional fields. She emphasizes, “Being adaptable is such an important skill to have as it can be applied to almost any occupation and especially if I work in the technology industry, I must adapt to emerging technologies and opportunities.”
Gloriana echoes this sentiment, highlighting adaptability as a crucial skill in navigating tasks and emerging technologies. She reflects, “I have gained many valuable insights on the professional world at U+. Being adaptable can be applied to many things here at U+. I must adapt to the different web development tasks that I am given, and even if I don’t know how to do something, I ask questions and learn.”