We are so pleased to welcome Mackenzie Robinson, Software Engineer, to the team. You can learn more about Mackenzie below.
Tell us about yourself. Where are you from?
I’m from Elizabethton, Tennessee originally and moved to Knoxville as a high-schooler and have lived in the greater Knoxville area ever since.
Where did you go to school?
I don’t have formal school experience to speak of, I’m primarily self-taught and learned from on-the-job experience.
How did you get into software engineering? What areas of your field do you like to focus on?
I got into software engineering as I discovered there were more options for creativity than in the hardware realm.
Do you have a code of ethics or a mantra that you live by when doing development work?
To always keep the client experience in mind, particularly about privacy and inclusiveness.
How do our core values (collaboration, initiative, ingenuity) align with your own?
Knowledge is useless unless it’s shared so collaboration is very important. Innovation is bred from collaboration, and ingenuity is found in the most unlikely places — often from people who aren’t specifically in the tech world, but rather the people who use technology.
What do you want to learn in the next 12 months as a software engineer? What do you want to learn about the web development industry?
I want to learn about the needs of users and how to bring technological equity to people who are under-served by technology.
What is your favorite book, and why?
Blood of Elves by Andrzej Spakowski from The Witcher Series. I enjoy it because it prominently features living in a world where much has been done wrong and yet the characters are learning to navigate it to the best of their ability. They initially wish to be neutral but eventually must choose to either help or ignore the wronged.
What is the one thing most people don’t know about you?
I originally went to school for physics.
