Hello! I'm Katie Parks. I'm living in Austin with my husband, my cat, Kitten; my dog Captain, a Great Pyrenees mix; and my dog Dublin, a Golden Retriever.
I'm a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin with dual majors in English and History (note: picture is of my dog Captain who is also a graduate, though not of UT. Still, we are a learned family). After venturing out into the professional world for a few years and finding through work experiences, I'm interested in programming, I'm back in school taking classes at Austin Community College in Computer Programming to become more proficient and transition out of my current work role.
I'm not positive whether I'm going to complete a full Bachelor's in Computer Programming or take a bunch of classes in various languages that I can use to bolster my resume but so far, I'm just enjoying taking classes and getting back into the groove of school. I didn't think I'd miss being in school but it turns out, I did a little!
Skills:
- ICE Certified Encompass Administrator
- Proficient in Visual Basic
- Accomplished in MS Office
- Excellent written and verbal communication
- Great with time management and am very self-driven
- Project management
- CPR (former lifeguard)
- Licensed Loan Officer
Hobbies:
- Reading
- I love David Sedaris, Taylor Jenkins Reid, John Steinbeck, and Barbara Kingsolver (off the top of my head - there are so many more, though!)
- Writing
- Swimming on my swim team
- I've swum since I was 5, pretty competitively in high school, and recently got back into it, which I've really been enjoying
- Working out in general
- Playing with my dogs
- Gardening (or more specifically, getting better at keeping the plants I have alive, which used to be a real struggle)
- Avid Halloween participant
- I love a costume opportunity!
- Hiking/Exploring Austin
Groups/Membership:
- Texas Longhorn Master's Swimming program
- Austin Women in Tech
- ACC Computer Science Club
- Involved as a shavee through St. Baldrick's - an organization that raises money for children's cancer research
Repair Experience:
Not much but there are things around the house I'd like to fix. I do have sewing experience and mend holes in clothes and various fabrics.