Corina has been with AscentCore for almost two years now, and even though her time here included having to navigate through unusual circumstances due to the pandemic, she grew her passion for guiding and mentoring.
We sat down with her virtually to find out more about her love for coding and nature, as well as her career growth perspectives. Keep reading to discover Corina’s professional journey and her passions outside work.
Tell us a bit about yourself; your background, personality, and hobbies.
I’m a full-stack software developer at AscentCore. At the moment I’m in a committed relationship with JavaScript, while also adjusting to my new responsibilities as an aspiring team lead.
Outside working hours, and sometimes, during them, I really enjoy spending time outdoors. If you come by the office, you’ll probably find me coding on the terrace, enjoying the sun, and doing photosynthesis.
What is your favorite tech?
I would go with JavaScript. I like to think of it as a Swiss knife; it’s not the best tool for any job but it’s a good tool for all jobs. This allows me to worry less about what tools I’m using to accomplish the task and focus more on code architecture, design patterns, algorithms, and data structures.
The moment you learn to use JS for more than one purpose is when you begin to understand how powerful JavaScript actually is. It helped me explore the entire web development area: from writing vanilla JS on the client-side to node.js for server-side development. In between I’ve worked with various front-end frameworks like React and Vue.js, pre-rendered applications using Gatsby.js, command-line apps, I’ve experimented with desktop apps using Electron, or even with mobile apps using React Native.
What is a typical workday for you?
Since the pandemic began, I adopted a hybrid schedule. I really like to benefit from both the: “work from home” lifestyle, and the old “see you at the office”.
When I go to the office, I usually start my day early, with a ride there, using my electric bike, or by practicing my not-so-used-in-the-past driving skills. When I’m working from home, I take advantage of the extra minutes of sleep.
The first part of the day is usually filled with meetings: either syncs with the team or syncs related to the internship program. This year, I can proudly say that I mentored my first intern. At noon, we usually have our existential crisis around the question of “what are we eating today?”. I like to reserve the second part of the day for code writing, even if, I have to admit, the best ideas usually come early in the morning.
Why did you choose to work at AscentCore?
Before joining AscentCore I wanted to develop as fast and as much as I could. While having an interview with Cornel, our current CTO, I felt a connection that I’ve met my future guru. It is such an opportunity to work with someone who is so passionate and has such a boundless imagination.
In my almost 2 years at AscentCore, I can proudly say that I’ve grown a lot and discovered new parts of my career journey. I can finally give the guidance my colleagues need, and be the person the others ask when they are in doubt.
What is your favorite AscentCore value and why?
I really appreciate the flexibility. Our teams are in a continuous process of exploration and learning. As a matter of fact, the project I’m currently working on started as a proof of concept almost a year ago. We had to make some unusual architectural and technical choices in order to fulfill our client needs and had to deal with freshly-from-the-oven technologies to reach our goal.
In our spare time, we like to stimulate our imagination by contributing to all sorts of projects. Last year, as part of AscentCore, I published my first npm library. Another cool project some of us worked on, was a little AI playground focused on data visualization.
What is the most important lesson you’ve learned in your role?
Do not forget the joy of coding! Having fun and being curious makes a huge difference. Don’t let the responsibilities and stressful days take that from you. Working in the IT field is a wonderful opportunity. You can never get bored.
What’s next in your career journey?
I always pictured myself as a great technical person. But my degree of involvement in the business, the fact that I like to take ownership and keep track of the entire product, the way I want to share my knowledge and mentor others, turned out to be qualities I was not fully aware of. I would like to explore this area in the near future.
