dlewiski/envy_portfolio

Rails web application to show top coding projects and related work

README

The Big Picture

Overview

Positive, passionate sustainability focused professional seeking to do the most "good" possible. Standing in the remote backcountry of the world's first official national park inspired the goal to help human kind improve its relationship with the planet. I saw first hand the power of nature, its ability to calm us, heal us, and sustain us. I knew we as a society were out of balance and not acting in ways that would enable to worlds population to live healthily and happily. Since that formidable experience I have researched, tested, and implemented ways to engage the local community and reduce environmental impacts.

ENVY

That formidable volunteer trail crew experience in Yellowstone inspired me to purse a B.S. degree in environmental science. Over the course of that chapter of my education I learned more about what I first realized during that summer in high school. Over consumption, pollution, impacts of fossil fuels, and many more topics made me weary. How could we possibly fix this? Inspiration struck again during a visit to a mid size farm as part of my environmental management class. This farm had it all. Rotating chicken coups, the largest composting pile I had ever seen, rotating the cattle on different fields, water buffers, and more. The paramount moment was when they took our class into an old barn that they had converted into a little country store. It had meats and cheeses from the farm, eggs, someone down the road made jam and pasta, and someone else in the community made wooden toys that were also for sale in this shop. I thought one of these should be in every town, the country store for the 21st century. That night I sprung out of bed with a new business idea, create the first recognizable nationwide sustainability brand that provided the most environmentally friendly products with a focus on locally made. This business would be called ENVY, which stands for environmental necessities, valuables, and YOU! That way you can be green with envy ;)

Coding

• Notable projects

  • ENVY Angular- Web application built using Angular. Created a framework where users can see sustainability stories and assess their environmental impact. Used firebase to set up a database and deploy application. The modular aspect is what excites me most about this project. Used separate services to retrieve information from the database and kept code organized using 7 different components. Will add user authentication so users can keep track of their environmental score and add their own stories.

  • Epicoin - Ruby web application that emulates a blockchain node with the goal to educate and provide deeper understanding of blockchain technology. This was a group project where my main contribution was in the construction, organization, and visualization of the SQL database. I implemented a many to many relationship and 3, one to many relationships.

  • TAO Oregon - Angular application that is a one stop shop for over 500 hiking trails in the state of Oregon. Group project where my main contributions were created the services and components for the weather api and air quality api. I also styled and formatted the weather display to properly provide a 5 day forecast for each trail. I also implemented a daily air quality report for each trail.

• Chicago dataset - Working with a data science firm to clean and prepare the Chicago Food Inspection dataset using the Python data analysis library Pandas. Using a jupiter notebook on Google Colaboratory to preform the initial data cleaning. Goal will be to then focus on violations and see what restaurants have the most least violations and make suggestions how these techniques can be applied to assist other food institutions.

• Modularity and developed skills Through completing over 700 hours of coding, I have a strong foundation in developing applications that are modular, organized- including separation of logic, follow the MVC process, and preform unit and integration testing. I have confidence in quickly learning new technologies and frameworks, as well as being able to troubleshoot bugs and communicate effectively about code.

Nature and the great outdoors

I feel such a sense of calm and inspiration when I am in nature. The more remote, the less people, the more pristine the landscape, the more at peace I feel. Backpacking enables the ability to get deep into nature, and to focus on only the essentials you need to survive and be happy. Also, the taste of peanut butter and cheese is taken to a whole new level in the backcountry.

• Rock climbing This is a more recent endeavor and way to get into nature. This sport is a fantastic combination of mental and physical testing. It offers a whole new perspective and a whole new connection to nature.

Icebreaker

Icebreaker Merino was my home for a new chapter in my career. It provided a wonderful, supportive team which enabled me to dive into corporate responsibility. It was a great place to learn and experience all the different parts that make up a business. As and ecommerce customer service rep, I was fortunate be involved with so many teams. From marketing materials, to website roll outs, to knew product lauches, I developed strong communication and self awareness to work most effectively with such a diverse set of teams.

Skills

• Leadership- sustainability committee, store manager
• Public speaking- Sustainability tips, store manager, friends and family sales manager
• Customer service- ecommerce, service industry, national park service
• Positivity- Environmental science, company letting people go, lack of budget
• Inclusive - awareness for those who feel left out, make an effort to include them, Epicodus (Russell), Icebreaker (retail stores), Icebreaker website reformat (Lairen)
• Communication- online, email, chat, in person, over the phone (Customer Service, Store Manager, Sustainability Committee, literally every job), clear, transparent communication, see things from the other persons point of view, don't make assumptions and give folks the benefit of the doubt
• Futuristic - ENVY, re designing website
• Restorative - Figuring out what is wrong and resolving it, Store Manager (working with contractor and supervisor), lack of communication
• Quantitative - have an affinity and natural ability toward numbers and mathematics

Application Plan

Landing Page

Nav Bar

Authentication

Admin route using Devise

Database

Users table from Devise

This README would normally document whatever steps are necessary to get the application up and running.

Things you may want to cover:

• Ruby version

• System dependencies

• Configuration

• Database creation

• Database initialization

• How to run the test suite

• Services (job queues, cache servers, search engines, etc.)

• Deployment instructions

• ...