Meet The Team: Jeannie Ly, Full Stack Developer

Tell us a little about yourself, Jeannie!

Wow, summarizing oneself is harder than I thought! Okay, let me bullet point this…

• Born and raised in Toronto, Ontario.
• I speak English, Cantonese, and can understand children’s Japanese (I taught English to kids in a small city in Japan).
• I’m a mom to the cutest Toy Poodle named Penny. Her vet recently said she has superior genetics, though none of that can be attributed back to me.
• I’m sort of into crafting. I’ve been making incredibly detailed Christmas felt ornaments for the past 2 years (pandemic 🤷‍♀️). And yes, I have thought about building a felt ornament empire.
• I’m huge into hiking. I love trails that have a wide range of terrains and ones that involve scrambling (that’s when you’re on your feet AND your hands). My last big hike was up Half Dome in Yosemite.

How did you first get into software development?

It was a long, non-linear journey. I used to build fan pages in Geocities as a hobby (anyone?!) back in grade school, but I’ll spare you the details here (DM me if you really want to know). And somewhere along the way, I decided to go to school for something I was already good at. When I “went out into the real world,” I realized there was a glass ceiling that I wasn’t interested in trying to break. So in my 30s, I decided to do what I believed would be a lifelong journey of learning, challenges, and rewards—programming. It’s been a few years and I’m convinced I made the right decision. It’s not easy for a gal in her 30s to enter an industry so many young people excel in, but I think it’s a worthwhile effort to pave the way.

Why did you first join CoLab and what are you most excited about?

If you’re reading this, you either know that CoLab is a special place to work already or you’re interested to learn more about what employees have to say because you saw someone on LinkedIn gushing about CoLab. All of it is true. For me, I really value working with people who care about the quality of their work. I think this kind of energy really motivates and brings out the best in all of us.

If you had to be shipwrecked on a deserted island, but all your human needs—such as food and water—were taken care of, what two items would you want to have with you?

I really like home improvement, so I’m probably going to ask for a really good toolkit so that I can renovate the shipwreck. Maybe go modern-nautical. But not kitschy nautical, more minimalist nautical. Oh, and a helping hand!