Stephanie Thornley
About
Hello! I'm Stephanie, a Junior Software Developer
from Leeds.
I've gone from History grad to coding bootcamp grad,
which seems like a big change, but they're not so
different. As a logical thinker who appreciates the
smaller details as well as the bigger picture, the
transition came naturally to me. I love the process
of coding (even debugging!), and I also enjoy
learning about the history of tech and how its
advancements are affected by society, and vice
versa.
Skills and Experience
- Languages
JavaScript -
Front-end
React, React Native, Vue, Vuex, AWS Amplify, Expo, jQuery, HTML5, CSS3 -
Back-end
DynamoDB, AWS Cognito, AWS Lambda, PostgreSQL, Node.js, Express -
Testing
Jest, TDD -
Accessibility
ARIA, semantic markup -
Tools and processes
Git, agile development, pair programming
- Independent learning and research
- Communication
- Critical and logical thinking
- Self-motivation
- Cultural awareness and sensitivity
- Adaptability and flexibility
- Disability and mental health support and awareness (partial sightedness, Autism Spectrum Condition)
-
Northcoders: Full Stack Coding Bootcamp, March
- June 2020
- 3 month intensive full-stack JavaScript coding bootcamp, delivered remotely due to lockdown
- Daily lectures and sprints including pair programming and individual work, TDD and version control with Git
- Final group project, ‘Budding’ - in a group of four, created an end-to-end mobile app based on my idea to measure and track a plant’s growth by calculating a scale to convert screen pixels to a cm measurement, which is then used to calculate the plant's height. Utilised twice daily standups and kanban boards
-
The Prince's Trust: Executive, February -
August 2019
- Building young people's skills and motivation, helping them to gain confidence and find employment
- Working with young people from a range of social and cultural backgrounds, in a variety of settings
- Outreach and recruitment, delivering life skills sessions, liaising with external partners, risk assessments and safeguarding, providing emotional support to young people
-
Walt Disney World: Outdoor Food Vendor, June -
August 2016
- Food preparation and handling in a fast-paced environment, maintenance of machines, stock replenishment, cash handling
- Adhering to an extremely high standard of customer service in every interaction so as to deliver a “magical” experience at every opportunity
-
Lighthouse Futures Trust: Volunteer Chaperone
for Connections Club, November 2018 - June
2019
- Attending events (e.g. drinks, bowling) for young people with an Autism Spectrum Condition to socialise with others
- Ensuring events run smoothly and everyone feels safe and included in activities and conversation
-
Over the Wall: Team Mate, 2015 - 2018
- 24/7 care for children affected by serious illnesses and their siblings during residential activity camps
- Participating in activities with children designed to encourage them to recognise their potential
- Dynamically assessing risk and safeguarding
-
Guide Dogs Society at Leeds University Union:
Secretary, April 2015 - April 2016
- Organising and running fundraising events to raise awareness of the Guide Dogs charity to the student population and general public
- Processing administrative documents and permits for the society
Volunteer work
Projects
Undercover Elf
Made using
- JavaScript,
- Vue,
- Vuex,
- AWS Amplify,
- AWS Cognito,
- AWS Lambda,
- DynamoDB,
- CSS
Undercover Elf is a Secret Santa style app made for my family as a more user-friendly alternative to current popular sites such as drawnames.co.uk.
The free-to-use Secret Santa style websites currently available are often populated with many adverts of suggestions of items to put on their wishlists, which was confusing for my ageing parents. Undercover Elf eliminated this issue, and also gave me freedom to write more explicit instructions of how to use the site than is generally available on free-to-use sites.
Users can securely create their own accounts using AWS Cognito, with the ability to change their password. When a user creates a new group, an invitation ID and link are generated. This ID can can be sent to friends and family to easily search for the group on their account, or click the link to join the group directly. When a group is created, the creator is registered as the admin, and can edit the group's name, budget, and gift exchange date. Users have a wishlist for each group, where items can be added, edited, or deleted.
Accessible portfolio site
Made using
- jQuery,
- HTML,
- CSS,
- ARIA suite,
- Chrome screen reader
This portfolio site had been made along Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), with appropriate contrast ratios and text sizes, and tested using a screen reader.
I took the opportunity whilst making my portfolio site to learn more about how to make a website more accessible to people with disabilities, for example, those who rely on screen readers, cannot use a mouse, have visual impairments, or learning difficulties such as dyslexia.
Following WCAG, the accessibility of this site was improved by using semantic HTML, ARIA attributes, appropriate colour contrasts, visual and text cues, and readable fonts and bodies of text. Using the Chrome screen reader extension, I checked that my site would be easy to follow for someone using a screen reader.
Budding
Made using
- JavaScript,
- React Native,
- Expo,
- PostgreSQL,
- AWS S3,
- Express.js,
- Node.js,
- CSS
Budding is an app for measuring and tracking the progress of plants using a photograph and the pot height measurement, made in two weeks as the final group project for the Northcoders coding bootcamp course.
The user places markers on the photo at the bottom of the pot, the top of the pot, and the top of the plant. The app uses the position of these markers to calculate the distance between the bottom and top of the pot in pixels, and create a pixel-to-cm scale using the real-life pot height.
It then uses this scale to calculate the real-life height of the plant. Each time a user measures their plant, it is saved as a snapshot and can be viewed on the plant's page. Measurements are displayed on a chart, enabling the tracking of plant growth over time.
Northcoders News
Made using
- JavaScript,
- React,
- PostgreSQL,
- Axios,
- Jest,
- Node.js,
- CSS
A Reddit-style discussion website with articles and comments. Users can choose a login, view user profiles, up vote or down vote, browse by topic, and sort by date, popularity, or number of comments.
Made as coursework for the Northcoders bootcamp, Northcoders News is responsive and accessible. The site is written in semantic HTML with ARIA labels, and designed with suitable colour contrasts and focus indication.
The site is served by a purpose-built, RESTful API, and hosted with Heroku. The API has been fully tested with TDD using Jest, with appropriate error handling messages when incorrect paths are followed.
Contact
Feel free to get in touch using the secure form, or reach out on LinkedIn or Twitter!