New Crew Member: Kate Powers
Kate Powers is our newest intern, and like Vickie, Charielle and Kevin before her, comes to us by way of the Madison YWCA's front-end development bootcamp, YWeb Career Academy.
With an eagerness to learn and wry humor, Kate has fit in just fine here at Ten Forward. She's spent the last month learning about the various careers available in tech, adding a little Ruby and Rails to her coding knowledge, and helping triage and solve client support tickets.
Learn more about Kate below!
What brought you to Ten Forward?
I heard about Ten Forward through the YWeb bootcamp, and I was interested in the internship because while I know I want to work in the tech field, I don't yet know exactly what I want to do or where I’ll fit in.
What are you looking forward to learning or doing in your new position?
I am looking forward to learning more about iOS mobile development, as well as project management and quality assurance.
Like many current Ten Forwarders, you attended a web development bootcamp (woo woo!). What inspired you to pursue tech as a career?
When I knew that I wanted to make a career change, I thought that I should build on the skills that I already have instead of starting from scratch. I have always been interested in software development, and I have a strong background in customer relations and learning new languages. Tech seemed like the obvious path and I love it so far!
What are your first impressions of what it’s like to work at Ten Forward?
Everyone at Ten Forward is kind, welcoming, and extremely hard working! I love the team approach to everything, and of course the delicious snacks.
If you could have one superpower for one day, what would it be?
To travel back in time. I would meet with loved ones I’ve lost, and I might buy a lotto ticket too.
You were a bartender at a sushi restaurant here in Madison. If you were going to be best friends with a sushi roll, which one would it be, and why?
Probably the crunchy tuna roll. It’s a little spicy, a little citrusy, and I feel like it would really be there for me when I need it. Not a fair-weather roll, but a dependable roll.
What’s something about you that people might find surprising?
I love to cook and bake, and I tend to go a little overboard. I’ve been known to make coq au vin on a Monday night, or bake a six-layer cake for a friend's birthday (I used seven cups of buttercream for that project).
Fill in the blanks: "If I could only __ one __ for the rest of my life, it would be __."
If I could only visit one place for the rest of my life, it would be our family farm in Tomah, WI. It's beautiful, and I have a fondness for chickens and trout.
Favorite board game/video game, TV show/movie, band/musician, podcast, emoji.
Favorite card game: Midnight baseball
Favorite TV show: Legion
Favorite band: A tie between Veruca Salt, Babes In Toyland, and Sleater Kinney
Favorite emoji: Explosion! 💥
Star Trek or Star Wars?
Trek! Jean-Luc Picard is my Captain.