Meet The Team - Andrew DeRoche - Full Stack Developer

We’re excited to welcome you to the CoLab family, Andrew! Tell us a little about yourself.

I have a degree in Anthropology and a degree in Computer Science, so I have the opportunity to be completely wrong in multiple fields at the same time! I’ve been a software developer for a little over 5 years, and I’ve had the fortune to live and work in both Ottawa and St. John’s, from large companies to small start-ups, and I’ve made some really good friends along the way that have, I believe, been the most important result of my professional career. I also really like to  build tools for some reason.

In my spare time I like to draw (mostly on an iPad), run (mostly on my feet), and cook (mostly food).

How did you first get into programming?

My very first whisper of interest in programming is probably a common story for most young kids, video games. The idea that letters and math could draw, and animate and tell stories was down right confusing, and yet completely inspiring. As I got older, I learned to love web design, and specifically fonts. As I reached the end of my first degree I taught myself how to create web pages the hard way; I just sat myself down and read any free resource I could and tried to follow along. They were terrible, but any progress is progress! Eventually I made a few small webpages for some friends and events, and a year or so later, I decided I would go back to school for the second time and try computer science. It was terrible, but any progress is progress! I did the same thing; I just pushed through the first part, and began to discover what parts I liked and what parts I didn’t like. Eventually a friend of mine recommended me for a job, but I didn’t realize that it was at IBM in Ottawa. A couple of months later I was at IBM in Ottawa! The key takeaway here is, friends are extremely important.

How are you enjoying working at CoLab so far?

It has been a very welcoming and pleasant experience. CoLab seems to have a way to make people feel part of the group right from the beginning. I don’t think I’ve ever set up my developer environment faster, it felt like cheating, it was so good! What’s also clear is that CoLab has the right mix of people that believe in the mission, and understand that caring for the people around you should come first. Feeling like you are a part of the group follows pretty naturally from that.
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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?

A video camera, and the entire cast of Bob’s Burgers. I feel like they’re probably fun to hang out with and maybe I can get my screenplay made. Maybe sunscreen?

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