{"id":6447,"date":"2018-04-13T09:34:43","date_gmt":"2018-04-13T13:34:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/?p=6447"},"modified":"2018-06-15T08:59:16","modified_gmt":"2018-06-15T12:59:16","slug":"key-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/2018\/04\/13\/key-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Key Change"},"content":{"rendered":"

Switch from singing to coding proves e-ssential<\/em><\/h2>\n

\"Becky
\nHow does a student<\/strong> with dreams of singing on Broadway fall in love with computer programming? For Georgia Southern alumna Becky Case (\u201904) it was easy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started as a vocal performance major, but after the first year I was a little worried about future career prospects,\u201d she said. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to teach voice and the idea of making it as a professional singer seemed unlikely. I decided to take a computer class that fit into my schedule. It ended up being Intro to Programming (Visual Basic). I loved it and changed my major at the end of the semester.\u201d<\/p>\n

Climbing the Ranks<\/h2>\n

Since graduating, the singer-turned-computer scientist has climbed the ranks through software engineering opportunities at Zappos, Bonobos and OpenSky. Today, Case is the vice president of engineering at Birchbox, a leading online beauty subscription retailer. The company\u2019s technology infrastructure allows subscribers to pay monthly for five beauty products based on their individual beauty profile, which is created on an easy-to-use website. Case oversees all engineering for the e-commerce company.<\/p>\n

\u201cBirchbox is global in six different markets with three offices in Europe in addition to our New York headquarters,\u201d she said. \u201cMy team is responsible for any tech that needs to be built to support our sites, apps, subscription services, retail locations and internal tools that are needed for business operations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although her days are filled with projects, Case said, \u201cI still try to make time for coding when I can, as it\u2019s something I very much enjoy.\u201d With all that she has accomplished since leaving Georgia Southern, Case is equally excited about the mentoring relationships she has established with the people she supervises.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing a manager means much of your time and energy is invested in your team,\u201d she said. \u201cI love watching them stretch to meet a challenge and succeed. I also love the organizational aspect of my job. I enjoy planning and putting things in order, so coordinating project deployments, company initiatives and employee work is something I find soothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CodingWhy Internships are Important<\/h2>\n

Case credits Georgia Southern for igniting her passion in computer programming and says what she learned here has been invaluable in her career.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile I learned a lot that I don\u2019t use every day\u2015the different types of sorting algorithms for instance\u2015the basics are key to understanding more advanced computer science concepts,\u201d she explained. \u201cIn addition, when I do need to know about an algorithm, I can implement it because I learned which one was the right tool for the job at hand. Furthermore, college taught me how to think critically and learn on my own. Self-learning is the key to being a good engineer as tech evolves constantly.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Statesboro native also advises students to pursue internships, saying she would never hire a new graduate who didn\u2019t have work experience as an intern or from a part-time job.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudents with internships are more prepared for the challenges of working in an office environment,\u201d she said. \u201cAlso, they make better engineers in the long run as they\u2019ve already had valuable real world experience\u2015putting them ahead of their non-interning counterparts.\u201d<\/p>\n

True Blue Memories<\/h2>\n

In reflecting on her years at Georgia Southern, Case\u2019s favorite memories include homecoming and the sing-along for Handel\u2019s \u201cMessiah\u201d every year. And she can\u2019t forget fighting for parking before class, saying she \u201ctook it as a personal challenge to get a good spot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Case is also passionate about painting, yoga, SoulCycle and her 9-year-old Siberian cat, Nikola Tesla. Living in New York City has been challenging but she admits she loves her job and a work environment that allows her to perform at her very best.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt took quite a while for me to become adjusted to the city,\u201d she said. \u201cI decided for the first two years to live within walking distance of my office. That allowed me to get used to New York without having to deal with the subway. But even then it can be overwhelming with the noise and all the people. However, I\u2019ve always wanted to live here\u2015so adjusting was just par for the course.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Sandra Bennett<\/em><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Switch from singing to coding proves e-ssential How does a student with dreams of singing on Broadway fall in love with computer programming? For Georgia Southern alumna Becky Case (\u201904) it was easy. \u201cI started as a vocal performance major, but after the first year I was a little worried about future career prospects,\u201d she […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":6474,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,7],"tags":[56],"class_list":["post-6447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-features","tag-spring-2018"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6447"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6447\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}