Hi, I’m Jaryn (pronounced like Karen but swap in a “J”). I’m a recent Brooklyn transplant originally from Silver Spring, Maryland.
Recent
I just completed a stint attending the Recurse Center, where I focused on gaining more experience with front-end technologies. For more info about what I have been up to recently, check out my Now page.
Career
I have worked as a software engineer since completing a B.S.E in Computer Engineering at the University of Maryland (Go Terps!). I spent my early career at several government contracting firms in the Washington area, where I primarily focused on building software around the Intelligence Community’s data exchange specifications, which define a set of common transport formats that aim to help disparate agencies receive, validate, transform, and manage data from around the Community.
Wanting to expand my skill set, I joined the Recurse Center’s Spring 1 2019 batch, where I spent 18 weeks exploring new technologies, honing my skills, and meeting incredibly talented developers from a variety of backgrounds. I finished RC in late June 2019, and I am currently interviewing for developer positions on the East Coast.
Volunteering
I also believe it is important to increase the pipeline of potential technologists, engineers, and generally curious minds. To that end, I endorse and have volunteered with organizations that share the same goal, including Women Who Code, Black Girls Code, and FIRST Lego League.
Travel
In 2013, I took a five-month sabbatical from between jobs to travel South America with the goal of learning Spanish, seeing the world, and eating all of the Peruvian food that I could find! I spent about a month each in Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile. This was the single most transformative experience of my life, as it tested my organizational skills, mental toughness, and willingness to expand my worldview.
Since then, I try to take at least one domestic and one international trip each year. My current count is 28 states and thirty-something countries on six continents (I’m coming for you, Antarctica!). My last big trip was in early 2019 to Southeast Asia, Spain and Morocco; I learned that the mass migration around the Lunar New Year is a sight to behold, Mudéjar architecture in Southern Spain is magical, and anything made in a Moroccan tagine can’t help but be delicious.