What drew you to Veridian, and how’s the journey been so far?

One of the things that really attracted me to Veridian was seeing how long many of the employees have been with the company. To me, that spoke volumes about the work culture and environment—something that was really important to me when looking for a job. It also signaled an opportunity to learn from a team with deep knowledge and experience.

My journey at Veridian has been great! I’ve been able to learn a lot through the projects I’ve worked on, and just as much from asking questions and getting support from my coworkers. Everyone has been incredibly helpful and patient, which has made a big difference in my growth as a junior developer.

What have been some interesting or rewarding projects you've worked on?

One highlight was adding document and article level search features to the Papakilo site, which genuinely improved the experience of people exploring the collection.

I’ve also been developing tutorial modules within Veridian, aimed at making it easier for users to navigate and fully utilise the system. I can’t wait for them to be released and to see the impact they’ll have on the user experience.

What’s your favourite memory so far at Veridian?

Definitely the Office Olympics! It had everyone laughing at some point, and it was such a fun break from our usual work routine. I especially loved the counting game where we took turns counting up, but had to clap instead of speaking any number divisible by 3—it definitely brought out everyone’s competitive side! After a year of working hard, spending the day having fun together felt genuinely rewarding and brought the whole team closer.

Looking ahead, what skills are you aiming to develop further in your career?

In the next few years, I see myself continuing to develop more complex features that enhance the user experience—making it easier, faster, and more intuitive for people to interact with and explore digital collections. I also see myself becoming more independent in managing digitisation projects, which form the foundation of any digital collection. Digitisation isn't just about converting physical assets into digital form—it’s also about ensuring that the content is accessible and searchable, so users can truly engage with the material.

If you could have dinner with any historical figure, who would it be and why?

Ada Lovelace—she wrote the first computer program. She had an incredible vision for what computers could become, long before their time. I think a conversation with her would be incredibly inspiring, and I’d love to learn how she approached problem-solving in an era where computing didn’t even exist yet.

If you could instantly become an expert in something outside of work, what would it be?

If I could instantly become an expert in something outside of work, it would be playing musical instruments—especially so I could create and perform ballads. Being able to express myself through beautiful melodies and heartfelt lyrics would be incredibly meaningful, and honestly, pretty cool too.