Symetra Internship

I have been gone for awhile! 💀 MIA! Since my last post, I have graduated (AAT program) and started an internship with Symetra in Bellevue, WA. I really wanted to put everything I had into this opportunity, so I took a little break from Blogger to focus a bit more.

Admittedly, I hadn't heard of Symetra before I had applied and interviewed. Starting as a summer IT intern with them, though, was probably one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had! 😊 I have never had the opportunity to work in such an inclusive and supportive work environment. I had amazing managers and mentors who both listened and encouraged me to expand my knowledge -- even when it was outside of my own department! I learned so much, from IT Security (I was given the chance to be a part-time IT Security Intern at the same time!) to Power BI, Web Development, and even database mapping/reporting.

Not only that, but I was given a chance to innovate and come up with new solutions to unique challenges. I got to compete in the annual Symetra Hackathon and won third place -- exciting to most of the members in my small group since we had never done a Hackathon before -- with an idea for a Life Insurance and Retirement Game! 🎊📣 It really helped me re-validate my love for game development/design and the path I want to pursue in the future.

And now that my time is ending there (after six amazing months), I am feeling a bit hesitant to move on. Crazy how you can get so attached to your co-workers and a company in just a few months! Overall, though, my internship was absolutely perfect and couldn't have been any better. I consider myself to be extremely fortunate to have had this experience and really really hope many more people will get the chance as well.

But now is the time to really get in the grind! I will be applying for jobs and getting back to my projects, especially the neglected portfolio website at amyshadixon.com. 👀 I have one or two small tutorials I would like to get finished and posted here as well. But I would like to thank Symetra for getting me where I am! I am a bit nervous, but also excited to move forward!

Treat Yo'self

Confession: I haven't coded in about two weeks! School has ended and I took a much-needed mind-cation. I still had to go to work, of course, but I let my brain rest a bit from the coding battlefield. Today I finally got back to it and noticed a bunch of simple fixes to some of the problems that I was really struggling with before. 😅 

Sometimes you can be burnt out and not even know it. I'm just here to let you know that it is okay to take a break. In fact, you are probably not going to be very productive without them (big or small); there's plenty of studies that can tell you that, but I am coming at you with words based on experience! Y'know, the best kind! 😉 

All joking aside, please remember to relax, rest, and give yourself a treat! Come back to your projects with fresh new eyes and ideas. 

This has been your reminder and PSA! 

Create: ReactJS Project

This is an ultra simple tutorial on how to create a .NET Core + ReactJS project using Visual Studio Community 2017. It is for beginner-beginners (unlike my just plain beginner self 😆). It should help anyone who is unfamiliar with Visual Studio or with web applications in general. If this is far too simple for you, don't worry! There is more to come; as I learn, I'll help you learn too! 

Before beginning, install:
Visual Studio Community 2017 available here.
.NET Core 2.2 available here (using .NET Core Installer: x64)
NodeJS available here (using the Recommended for Most Users option)

Creating a project:
1) Install the above programs/packages starting with Visual Studio Community (the order installed after finishing Visual Studio doesn't really matter). Downloading Visual Studio Community might take a bit of time; this is normal. After the initial installer finishes loading, a pop-up will be displayed that will need you to select what type of projects you want to use Visual Studio for. I happened to select a bunch, but all you will need for web applications, specifically, is ASP.NET and Web Development under Web & Cloud. You can install as many workloads as you want, but keep in mind that the more you select, the longer the download/installation will take (if you ever want to change these, just look for the Visual Studio Installer in your programs and click Modify under Visual Studio Community 2017): 

2) After everything is completely installed, open up Visual Studio (Visual Studio will probably prompt you to sign in with a Microsoft account, feel free to follow the prompts) and create a new project by going to File >> New Project in the top left corner. A pop-up with more selections should then appear. In the left column, select Visual C# (by clicking the small arrow) >> .NET Core. In the right column, then select ASP.NET Core Web Application. Fill out the small form on the bottom containing Name, Location, and Solution Name (I set my Visual Studio theme to dark, so if you are entirely new to it, then yours will most likely appear white):

3) Press Ok when you feel that your information is correct. The next screen will prompt you to define what kind of .NET Core project you want to create; this is where we will choose React and specify what version of .NET Core we want to use. At the top, next to .NET Core, make sure the dropdown to the right of it shows ASP.NET Core 2.2 (the most recent version) in the box. Then in the area full of options below it, select React.js. Make sure to leave the Configure for HTTPS box below that checked:

4) Press Ok and your project will be created for you (after a bit of loading) including a sample controller and a few example components.

If you click IIS Express (with a green triangle next to it) at the top of Visual Studio, you can run your project and view it in the browser. You should get a starter page with a top Navbar/menu bar that looks like this:

A bit about your new project:

1) Components are your web page builders or pieces. They are like legos and can be used to build almost any web page. A component can hold many other components or can stand alone; it is your choice!

2) Controllers have many different uses across ASP.NET, but with core and ReactJS, they are mainly used to control incoming and outgoing information. So if you have a database or are using an API (which, if you are unfamiliar, is kind of like a pre-made online database with special features; there is definitely more to it, but let's keep it as simple as we can for now) you can use a controller to pull out, manage, and create the information contained in it.

And that's it:

Make sure to explore your new project! Look at the given controller and experiment with components of your own to get a better feel of a ReactJS project. There is a lot going on with React, but this will at least help you get started. 😁

The Beginning

Welcome to your spot for code counseling and tea! 

I will be adding to this blog more and more as time goes by, incorporating tutorials and day-to-day coding adventures into my posts. Like is said in Ratatouille, "Anyone can cook," I believe that anyone can code with the right information! And I hope to get as many people as I can there! So feel free to drop by whenever you need some simple coding advice or just need a place to relax and talk about code. I can't say that I will have a real cup of tea ready for you when you drop by, but I am always here to serve you a virtual one 🤓 🍵