I am a musician, and one of my most relaxing hobbies is playing the piano. I remix the beats and compose different rhythms along with the melody when I get bored of playing the same thing.
It all started during undergrad while taking an e-commerce course. My final project was to create an online tourism website, similar to what Airbnb is today. Once I graduated, I began to receive job offers from small businesses to create websites for their companies. That’s when I started to love web development. Today, I love the thrill, and I love to see my imagination come to life.
As a web developer, I work on improving User Interface (UI) (i.e., the interactions between the user and the website) and User Experience (UX) (i.e., the experience for the consumer using the website) for Military REACH. My primary responsibility is to deliver an outstanding user experience while providing an exceptional and intuitive application design.
Although each design task for Military REACH is enjoyable, the most delightful task I've worked on was updating the overall design of the website. Our new design, completed in fall 2019, is more intuitive, based on UX research, and cleaner than the previous version. I enjoyed this task the most, because, in a short period, we were able to complete a comprehensive, challenging task.
I am originally from Iran, and yes, it was challenging; however, it was fun. Everything was different, including the city and education system, but I love big changes and challenges. It feels good to burst through obstacles and look back on how you made mistakes but still were able to succeed.
The biggest surprise, especially in Auburn, was that people would hold the door for a long time for me. So many times, I dropped my tea running to catch the door!
The other surprise was when people would smile at me even before knowing me.
What I am most proud of is that Iran, previously named Persia and sometimes still referred to as such, is home to one of the world's oldest continuous major civilizations, with historical and urban settlements dating back to 7000 BC.
I have learned so many things, including both soft skills (e.g., team collaboration, communication skills) and technical skills (e.g., UX researching, Wireframing, UI prototyping, Analytics). I have also learned how to work with a single-page application using Angular (i.e., web application framework), and TypeScript (i.e., programming language).
I am so grateful to be part of Military REACH. I love helping people in need and strengthening their relationships by making the research accessible online. I feel like Military REACH is a part of me and my family, since my husband also works at Military REACH. After work, we discuss our thoughts and questions about Military REACH, which makes this serious project fun and entertaining.
Students are an integral part of Military REACH because they provide our team with a new perspective, high-quality products, and invaluable assistance. Continue to look out for our Student Highlights, where we will feature students from our team and will highlight the contributions they have made not only to our team, but to the larger military community.