Old Interests Spark New Career Path | Graduate Spotlight

Sue Xiong of Full-time Web Development Cohort 49 shares that her first exposure to coding was actually when she created her MySpace account! “Instead of looking for premade layouts, I begin to create my own layout,” she explains. “Later on in college, I was given the opportunity to dabble in all sorts of Microsoft products and SQL. Never would I have ever considered that years later, I would reignite the curiosity of coding and pursue it as a career!” 

Prior to becoming a web developer, Sue worked as a healthcare compliance professional. “My priority is to be thorough, efficient, and focus on the finer details. This has become quite useful while working with code.” Sue shares that although her career path has changed, her overall goals have not. She is ready to assist clients in the most efficient way possible with her new skills in web development! 

What was your favorite part of your NSS experience?

“The positive atmosphere NSS provided. Throughout my previous career, I felt like I couldn't truly be honest with what I knew and what I needed help on. It was as if I would be reprimanded for not truly getting everything correct the first time. NSS encouraged questions, even if I thought they were dumb. My instructors always encouraged us to be honest and straightforward with what we needed help on. I've been able to confidently share my thought process and approach without being afraid that it is wrong or silly.”

What was your favorite capstone project and what about it made it your favorite?

“My favorite was PryVata. The project was very robust and during the time building it, I really thought that I had bit more than I can chew. This project may have seemed so simple from the front-end, but it really gave me insight on how much work is put into an application that incorporates some data analytics/logistics to it. I was so happy to be able to bring my previous experience and merge it into my current career.”

What advice would you give to current or incoming NSS Web Development students? 

“Journal! [On a] weekly basis, list out what you've learned in the past week and what your goals are for the next week. This really helped me during capstone time when I was stuck on a problem that I knew we worked on previously. Also, it helped show my growth during the program.”

HIRE SUE

Now that she’s graduated from NSS, Sue is on the hunt for her first job in web development! Connect with her on LinkedIn and listen to her podcast below to hear more about Sue’s capstone projects and NSS experience! 

Meet more of the graduates from Web Development Cohort 49 by visiting their class website!