Chris Bridges

My Story

Born in Central California’s San Joaquin Valley, I didn’t have much exposure to computers growing up. Sure, I knew what they were, but aside from typing out papers and the occasional video game, the magnificent potential of these machines remained hidden to me. Consistent internet access was a luxury I didn't possess until I went to college.

It wasn’t until my last semester of senior year, that I decided to audit a computer science course. I was hooked. I found myself staying up until midnight solving problem sets for a class in which I wasn’t even being graded. I knew then that this was what I wanted to spend my life doing - this was my medium. Code needed to be efficient and maintainable, but clean enough to be readable by others. It was science. It was art. It was the perfect combination of technical and soft skills - the holistic canvas I’d been searching for.

Since that time, I have dedicated myself to learning everything I possibly can about my craft. The technological landscape is always shifting and growing, and with it, the possibilities for amazing products and services with limitless potential. I am thrilled to be playing my small part in this industry.

Projects

Blog

<React •
GatsbyJS •
Netlify/>

Personal blog where I cover a variety of topics including finance, real estate, health, and technology learnings.

(ChrisBridges.Blog)

Stack Don't Kill My Flow

<HTML5 •
CSS3 •
JavaScript/>

Stack Don't Kill My Flow is a Chrome extension that removes all the fluff from Stack Overflow pages so you can remain focused. I found too often that I was getting distracted by discussions that had nothing to do with my original search - “Could a lightsaber cut through Captain America’s shield?” (The debate rages on).

The extension blocks job postings, meta discussion, hot network questions, chat room discussions, and ads. Related Questions remain due to their potential to help find the answer you're looking for.

(Chrome Web Store , Repo)

Pulse

<React •
ES6 •
Socket.io •
Node •
Express/>

Pulse allows you to perform real-time sentiment analysis on stocks and cryptocurrencies. Each search provides you with a stream of tweets about what people are saying about that asset right now, as well as an updating sentiment score and graph to chart movements in sentiment. This allows users to predict whether or not the general public is bullish or bearish on an asset at that point in time.

(Live app , Client Repo , Server Repo)

Whatdo.io

<jQuery •
Node •
Express •
MongoDB / Mongoose •
JWT Authentication/>

Whatdo.io (“What Do I Owe?”) provides users a singular source where they can store all the bills and expenses that they share with other people. I often found myself setting reminders or calendar entries to manage these various charges, so I wanted to create a definitive ledger to alleviate this struggle. Users can organize their bills by recurring, one-time, as well as whether or not they are owed to a third-party or owed to them.

(Live app , Repo)

RoadFlix

<jQuery •
Ajax Calls •
3rd Party API Implementation/>

RoadFlix was created for the avid traveller who needs something to watch during the course of their trip. Simply enter your origin and destination, and RoadFlix will calculate the amount of time it will take to drive there, and offer movie suggestions for you to watch during that time. Add movies to your queue, and RoadFlix will tell you once you’ve added enough movies to keep you entertained throughout the entire length of your trip. Happy travels!

(Live app , Repo)

References

Quick Learner

Chris is a very quick learner, partially due to his talent for programming, and partially thanks to his passion for software. Chris was my mentee at Thinkful Inc., during this time I learned as much from him as what I can offer him. Chris is always energetic and eager to experiment. He has not only become an expert in React and front-end, but he has written complex backends leveraging Express and MongoDB. Be it front end, back end, or testing - I would count on Chris as the professional to carry it forward.

- Lykaio Wang (Senior Developer at Coinbase)

Integrity

I had the pleasure of hiring and working with Christopher as one of the tutors for our Math Learning Center. He is reliable, hard-working, and of high integrity. I would HIGHLY recommend Christopher for any post or position for which he may apply; he would be an asset to any organization with which he is involved!

- Tom Shirey (Professor of Mathematics, Vanguard University)

Self-Motivated

Chris Bridges was an outstanding Campus Ambassador for InstaEDU during his time with us. He not only was self-motivated and hard-working, but also very personable and could sell a concept or a pitch to anyone he communicated with. His outstanding work showed in his results. I'd recommend Chris to anyone who is looking to work with someone who is an expert salesman, punctual, creative, self-motivated, and gives his 100% to any endeavor he embarks on.

- Alberto Aroeste (Lead Project Manager at Chegg)

Standout Engineer

Chris is a standout engineer and instructor! His ability to teach people complex subjects with professionalism and approachability is a hard combination to find. It is inspiring. I worked with Chris for three years at Thinkful, where he crafted almost all of our JavaScript classes and practice drills, many of which we still use to this day. He helped us develop our whole class structure.

Chris is ridiculously efficient and strives to bring out the best in his teammates. Without hesitation, I would highly recommend Chris if you were looking for an engineer or instructor.

- Ivy Rueb (Leader of Academic Success at Thinkful)

Eager to Lead

Chris is a shining example of what it means to be an engineer in the modern workplace. Everyone has recognized his abilities; from his peers, all the way up to management. He has proven time after time that he's not just capable, but willing and eager to lead.

- Performance Review 2021

All of these endorsements can be found on my LinkedIn