Meet Technologist Addy Cummins

A Brief Introduction

Describe yourself in 3 words.

I am an inquisitive, creative crafter. Having worked as an English as a Second Language teacher, I understand the value of continued learning and how to acquire new information effectively. Having produced award-winning screenplays and collaborative films, I love coming up with innovative ideas and products. And finally, no matter the job or project, I pride myself on being skilled in planning, making, and executing quality work.

Why did you join Strategio’s Simulator?

I joined because Strategio is a company that values diversity, inclusion, and draws innovation from sources like me who would otherwise be overlooked in a job application resume pile due to my unconventional career path toward tech.

What were you doing before you joined Strategio?

At 26, I switched careers twice, moving from the corporate arena of marketing to the self-sacrificing society of educators, now to the wide-open world of software engineering. I have gained indispensable prowess in each field:

• Marketing & Technical Writing — I learned the importance of brevity in communication and flexibility in working in a mid-size company.
• Teaching — When you stand up and teach in front of 35 students who barely speak English, you will surely gain confidence in public speaking and an empathetic outlook on life. I learned that I thrive most working on projects that mean something to me and have a direct positive impact on the community. I learned that my introversion and passion make me a great leader.

In the months before Strategio, I coached two high school debate teams who went to the National Tournament in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria; directed a short film with a crew of 25 students; and graduated from a coding boot camp in Lisbon, Portugal, having built four multi-model applications in a month and a half. It’s been quite a year :)

What are you most excited about next year (2023)?

After traveling for the last two and a half years and living in Airbnb, short-term apartments, and friends’ sofas, I am looking forward to grounding myself in 2023. This “grounding” might be temporary, and I would never call it “settling down.” Still, I am excited to start a new career in a competitive, always-changing industry in a new place with new friends and colleagues and just focus on these fundamentals again.

What made you decide to get into tech?

In college, I babysat a child with many coding games and electrical engineering puzzles. He was eight years old and already knew about logic gates and linked lists. Being the competitive person I am, I was determined to master one of his toys — the Rubik’s cube. I learned the basic algorithms, and when it became easy to solve, I figured out how to do it faster, more efficiently, and intuitively until I solved the thing in under a minute.

I took my first CS class soon after and found the same joy and sense of accomplishment when completing a project as I did solve the cube the first time. After self-studying data structures and algorithms and attending a full-stack boot camp, my drive to learn has increased with my newfound knowledge. This drive comes from a playful place — a place that merges my love of creativity and problem-solving into a cube that spins and evolves into any shape I want.

What do you like to do during your spare time?

I started rock climbing in college and absolutely fell in love. The combination of technical movement, problem-solving, and community support has been addicting and rewarding. I also enjoy playing guitar, writing, traveling, and watching movies.

What is your favorite cultural value at Strategio?

Be Better to me means not only actively striving for self-improvement in a professional setting but also as an ethical and empathetic person.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

While working as an educator, I had the privilege of traveling across Western and Eastern Europe. Now, I would love to experience a part of the world I have never been to and roam the sprawling cities of South Korea and the stunning natural parks of Vietnam.

What’s your favorite restaurant?

I don’t know if I have a favorite (I love all foods and like to try as many eateries as possible), but a restaurant with many memories is Dina’s Pizza & Pub. My family would order a large half-pepperoni and half-green-pepper-and-onions-pizza and house mild wings on special occasions and during sports games.