What job/study are you doing right now and tell us a little about it?
I currently work as a full stack software developer at a finance company, which creates software which invests moneys in portfolios which accurately reflect the client's needs. We deal with big data and running massive amount of different computations of that data with different criteria. The company is lovely and the work is both rewarding and fulfilling.
Did you do any further/higher education?
I attempted further education multiple times, but I couldn't get the drive to stick it through. While I never went to university or finished 6th form, my education never stopped their and my focus for the past 12 years has been computer related.
How did you decide on your career path and what is/was most interesting about your work?
When I left school I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, this resulted in me taking a wide variety of courses about different thing (physiology, physics, chemistry and website design). When I hit 17 I got a job as an IT Technician for a bit. After a year I worked at ASDA for 3 years, until I was able to get another job in IT. Reworking in IT reinvigorated my love of computer and software design from when I was little and so I pushed forward with it. I love software design as there are so many puzzles to solves and their are so many creative ways to resolve an issue.
Can you share a couple of fond memories of your time at St Cuthbert's?
When I first think of fond memories I instantly think of my friends, some of whom I still speak to now. Other memories involve a certain teacher randomly starting to play the guitar and sing as we ate lunch, the visit to France when a group of us watched a group of urban street dancers (some of us got involved). I also have fond memories of the teachers allowing us to question the subjects that they were teaching and now that I'm older, I respect that so much.
Did you have a favourite/influential teacher? What made them so important to you?
Mrs Tickle (science teacher) will always be my favourite teacher. It's not that she was always nice to me or that she was the funniest, but I loved her classes and she'd always pull me up when needed. She actual drove me to question choices that I was making at the time and would spend the time to help me fix my work when she never had to, so many of her lunches must of been helping me get back on track.
What advice would you give our current students?
Even if your unsure of your future, keep strong as the career or are unsure of can pop up from anywhere. Not everything which is standard is the best way and if something isn't working for you, you should try new and creative ways.
Name: Garry Flanagan