KIERSTEN MIKULSKY

Computer science student | Aspiring software engineer

Hello

My name is Kiersten Mikulsky. I am an analytical and driven aspiring software engineer with 5 years of experience in Computer Science and Programming. I am also a CS student at WVU (class of 2021). I enjoy challenging myself through multiple modalities, I have a strong musical background, I have competed with various athletic teams,I have a growing video game collection, and I have won awards for my artwork. It is my diverse range of interests that allows me to take on multiple projects and represent a broad range of businesses.

About

  • FX Physical Therapy

    Baltimore MD

    I am currently working remotely as FX Physical Therapy’s web developer. I’ve been developing a new custom wordpress theme for FX, as well as maintaining the company site in order to boost performance and improve user experience.

  • West Virginia University

    Morgantown WV

    While studying computer science at WVU I worked as an intern at Nextgen Federal systems where I got to help full time engineers develop applications and websites for clients. I worked on a variety of projects for school including my capstone where my team built an autonomous wheelchair for the elderly. Today I am a senior computer science student at West Virginia University with less than a few credits to go until graduation.

  • US Army National Guard

    Gassaway WV

    I spent 6 yrs in the Army while attending both Salisbury and WVU. During my time in the service I got to travel to different locations in the US for training, work with special forces, and help the community. The military taught me discipline, leadership, and how to work best with a team.

  • Salisbury University

    Salisbury MD

    At Salisbury University I was lucky enough to go on school trips where our class got to participate in environmental research. During this time I completed basic and advanced training for the Army and began attending training for the guard while pursuing my degree in biology. After learning more about bioinformatics in my classes I became interested in learning how to code. I started with a tutorial in C++ for creating a simple game of pong and later found myself wanting to transition to a new major in Computer Science. I applied to enroll at West Virginia University where I would start my new major and study to become a software engineer.

  • Highschool

    Smithsburg MD

    From Frederick I moved to Smithsburg where I went to middle and highschool. By the time I was a sophmore in highschool, I was taking AP science courses, was the saxophone section leader of the marching band, and competed in gymnastics and track. Science and computer labs were some of the highlights of my school days where our classes got to do exciting hands on activities. By the end of highschool I decided to apply to Salisbury University in Maryland to pursue a degree in Biology and enlist in the Army National Guard.

  • Beginning

    Frederick MD

    As a kid I was as inquisitive as I was creative. Growing up in Frederick, Maryland allowed me to explore my interests in science and technology where imagination and curiosity fuled the fun activities and adventures that helped to shape my passions. By the time I was in elementary school, I was begging my parents for a microscope and a computer for my room. I would go out into the backyard and look for samples for my slides, build crazy “inventions” with my sister out of the junk we could find, make home projects on my windows 2000 computer, and never stop talking about my love for video games.

Experience


WEB DEVELOPER

FX PHYSICAL THERAPY

At FX Physical Therapy I work on the company’s official website. My goal is to boost site speed and performance through integrating a more lightweight custom wordpress theme I’ve been developing. So far I have helped FX boost site speed, accessibility, and page views through maintaining and improving their live site.

PHP JAVASCRIPT SQL HTML CSS WORDPRESS UI DESIGN

DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT INTERN

NEXTGEN FEDERAL SYSTEMS

During my time as a Development Support Intern I worked on the company website, as well as created a new website for a local community organization. This furthered my knowledge in HTML, CSS, JavaScript and more, and gave me experience in an Agile development environment.

HTML CSS TYPESCRIPT JAVASCRIPT ANGULAR WORDPRESS UI DESIGN

NATIONAL GUARD ENLISTED

UNITED STATES ARMY

During my time in the army I learned how to be a leader and how to work well with a team. I learned how to develop and execute a plan during training with my assigned squad as corporal and worked hard to make sure my duties were performed correctly as a specialist.

TEAM LEADERSHIP SECURITY CLEARANCE STRATEGIC PLANNING COMMUNICATION

Education


COMPUTER SCIENCE

WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY

Earned over 126 credit hours toward BS in Computer Science Currently one class from receiving degree due to covid related complications and will finish classes remotely in Fall Chose Software Engineering and Cybersecurity as focuses for my program

RELEVANT COURSEWORK
  • Advanced Software Engineering
  • Analysis of Algorithms
  • Computer System Concepts
  • Computer Architecture
  • Compiler Construction
  • Game Development
  • Intro to Data Structures
  • Intro to Software Engineering
  • Practicing Cybersecurity
  • Operating Systems Structure
  • Intro to Software Engineering
  • Principles of Programming Languages
JAVA PYTHON C LINUX SQL ANDROID STUDIO SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT VERSION CONTROL

BIOLOGY

SALISBURY UNIVERSITY

Studied biology for 3 years between both universities with 58 credits towards a degree in Biology

RELEVANT COURSEWORK
  • Medical Microbiology
  • Introductory Physiology
  • Statistics with Computer Analysis
  • Composition and Research
  • General Biology
  • Fundamentals of Chemistry
  • Zoology
  • Human Anatomy and Physiology
BIOCHEMICAL TESTING BLAST RESEARCH PCR WET LAB

Volunteer Work


CONSTRUCTION VOLUNTEER

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY

While volunteering for Habitat for Humanity I helped build affordable homes for those in the community alongside fellow Engineering students. I aided with the foundation of the home and installing fixtures while effectively communicating with the workers on site.

BICYCLE REPAIR

POSITIVE SPIN

Positive Spin’s goal as a non-profit organization is to provide bikes to those who need them both locally and internationally. I worked with my team to remove old parts of bikes, salvaging the good pieces that would be used for future repairs and recycling the unusable parts.

Personal Projects

TEXT-BASED GAME

INTERACTIVE FICTION USING INFORM 7

Go Down Together is a short, text-based adventure game programmed using the Inform 7 programming language. The game was created to serve as a quick activity for an album review club. It’s based off of the song Go Down Together from the album Draw Down the Moon by Foxing. The game is set in an apocalyptic world where the player is encouraged to make the most out of the time they have left. The gameplay focuses on careful decision making, ending on the 8th turn.

PERSONAL WEBSITE

MY WEBSITE

This website was made using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. I started this site in April 2021 to show who I am, practice coding outside of work and school, and demonstrate my abilities as a programmer.

SPACE TRAVEL ANIMATION

PROCESSING ANIMATION

A short animation of a ship flying through space. The ship bounces in a circular pattern while the background uses a warp speed effect, much like an old screensaver. The program was created using the Processing language and IDE.