About Me
There's simply no way to write one of these without sounding somewhat arrogant. Let's try anyway.
NB: For a simpler overview just check out my LinkedIn!
I'm a freelance writer, programmer, and musician from Switzerland (with a large helping of Australia thrown in for good measure) and am currently studying towards a BA in English and Computer Science at the University of Basel (Universität Basel for the teutophones among you).
Having taken my dare-I-say-sweet time being indecisive with my studies (with at least one false-start trying my hand at physics), I've found myself in various professional positions alongside my student life. In high school (back in Melbourne, Australia) I was already lucky enough to have some paid gigs working as a photographer, videographer, and on-set assistant for a variety of small to medium projects (see Video). Around this time I also worked as a web designer / administrator, and first became interested in music composition.
Discovering how much could be achieved with just a laptop and some simple software, I started down a long path that has led me to my favorite setup: Ableton Live + Nektar's LX25 + my trusty Yamaha Strat-rip-off Pacifica, though I will still dabble with Logic when I'm feeling lazy.
At the end of 2014 I moved back to Switzerland to study (at a fraction of the cost I was facing in Australia) and picked up some freelance work at Radio X, a local radio station which broadcasts an English-speaking show for expats (rather inventively named The English Show). While the work was unpaid, I found myself playing music journalist, and having the liberty to choose the concerts I reported on, while also being able to see the shows for free, so I'd certainly say that was reward enough. Of course I hope to return to this gig once it's safe and feasible to do so. In the meantime I intend to add a 'Writing' page to this portfolio and show off some of my better pieces.
From 2016 to 2020 (no prize for guessing why/how that ended) I was employed as a STEM instructor with TechLabs, introducing school-age kids to programming in Python and Arduino-C while also teaching various classes involving robotics, web development, and app design.
In late 2020 I was a content creation and social media management intern (working from home) at The Trip Boutique, where I was responsible for writing blog articles and copy for their destination database, sourcing material for their corporate social channels, and scheduling that material's publication. After a successful destination launch I left to focus once more on my degree, now that living through a pandemic had become more manageable.
Currently I've got several personal, professional, and academic projects demanding my attention, from a financial data analytics platform I'm co-developing, to a video game studio project I'm participating in as a programmer while on a semester abroad in Chicago (see Games).
If you've made it this far and for some reason you're still interested in my story I can offer a more personal perspective. While I was born in Switzerland, I was raised on the road, never living in one place very long before the next move, the next school, the next language and culture. As a result, travel has become part of my blood as well as my name (see what I did there), and has undoubtedly left me with a great respect and love for both urban and natural environments, from the coral reefs of Western Australia to the hustle and bustle of New York City. My favorite urban spots include Berlin, San Francisco, my home town of Basel, and now Chicago!
Throughout my work and studies I concern myself with how to streamline technology into modern life in a mentally healthy and sustainable way, which I believe to be possible albeit increasingly difficult. You won't find me on much social media (certainly nothing owned by Facebook) unless you count Reddit or Discord (the former I see as an heir to the bulletin boards and forums of old, where discussion is centered around topics rather than people, and the latter is still more of a communication platform than a social media outlet in the vein of Facebook and Twitter). I have LinkedIn simply as an online CV, and while I also have a twitter account (link in the footer) I rarely check in; I'm honestly not too sure why I have it other than occasionally falling back to it for some information or reaching out to other internet people.
Wondering what I'm up to right now? When I'm not unterwegs or am schaffe, I'm probably in my room either finding out what weird and wonderful sounds I can squeeze out of my guitar or tending to my rather manic collection of typewriters, CRTs, old video game consoles, and various other technological flotsam (please send money for large warehouses to store my junk).