WAM Tales: Five Years As a Front-End Developer
When you’ve been at a company for five years or more, you know the ins and outs. You know the story about the office once looking like a jungle with a random collection of plants arranged around a project manager’s desk, and you remember the excitement of winning that one big client.
That’s exactly what our front-end developer, Jennifer Sisson, knows. Jennifer has been with WAM more than half of its lifetime, but being a developer wasn’t the first thing on her radar as far as a career choice goes.
“I studied photography and digital media technology at Columbia in 2003. I remember taking a digital photography course at the time and saying, ‘This is the future,’ though not everyone believed me,” Jennifer said.
That course led her to wanting to know more about what she could create using computers, and she quickly fell in love turning visions into websites.
“It wasn’t how it is now. My college courses taught the foundations of building websites using tables for layout. Technology moves so quickly, that this was becoming outdated even as I was learning. After college, I convinced an agency that I was capable of that next new thing. They hired me, and from on-the-job experience, I really did learn the latest and greatest standards and techniques, ” Jennifer said.
Fast forward to Jennifer picking up even more experience from a handful of other small agencies and working for herself, then coming over to We Are Mammoth. From the moment she stepped in the door, she could tell this agency was built on the magic of its people.
“Everyone contributes, and that makes it a really open culture. For example, several years ago, we needed a group chat option that was better than instant messenger,” Jennifer said. “I suggested HipChat, and within a few days, we had it adopted across the company. It’s a testament to the founders as to how trusting they are with their employees and their suggestions.”
But it’s not just the inclusion that makes We Are Mammoth special. It’s the quality of work and the pride each team member takes in that.
“No one ever says ‘that’s not my job.’ In fact, everyone is always reaching outside their box to help. People are paying attention here,” Jennifer said.
Jennifer pointed to our daughter companies, DoneDone and Kin, that really highlight WAM’s capability to see outside our own little square and create better for the world.
In fact, it’s that want to make the world better that has attracted some of We Are Mammoth’s best clients.
“One of my favorite projects was a health and wellness program through the National Dairy Council, NFL and the USDA. It helped promote healthy eating and becoming more physically active for students across the country. I was helping to create something that could really impact young lives for the better,” Jennifer said.
So what’s up for the next five years for Jennifer at WAM?
“I want to continue communicating a vision of the world through the web. And, I want to be a great technical partner to companies and organizations who want to make a difference.”
