John Muyskens, Design Apprentice:
A creator from the start, John spent his wonder years making spy movies, radio shows, and homemade audiobooks with his siblings. The son of two chemists, his Grand Rapids childhood was filled with creativity and some quality computer time. Introduced to programming in the 5th grade, John didn't pick it up again until he arrived at Calvin College. Feeling uninspired by his engineering classes, John was encouraged by his best friend to check out some CS courses. He was drawn to the immediate gratification of coding and fell in love with his ability to create, make, and prototype in that space.
John also spent many hours working outside of the classroom as Managing Editor of the Calvin College newspaper, The Chimes; it's there he discovered his inclination for design while manipulating layouts for both print and web. John carried these skills into his next job making promotional posters for the major musical acts that perform at Calvin.
He loves the freedom he's found here at Mutually Human: "It's great to be allowed to just go off and figure things out. I can choose which part of the project fits me best and bring my own unique skill set to it." He's also enjoying his fellow apprentices and their "willingness to challenge each other and learn new things." Welcome, John!
Stella Cho, Software Apprentice:
Born into a military family, Stella spent the better part of her life in the hustle and bustle of Seoul, South Korea. The middle of three children, Stella is both studious and dedicated which helped her matriculate at Swarthmore College and start her studies in Computer Science. Though she misses flying kites, the dukboki (korean rice cakes with hot sauce), and biking around Seoul, she is thoroughly enjoying the more natural environment of Grand Rapids: "I've never experienced a city with so much nature in it. It's great here."
In the tight-knit community of Swarthmore, Stella began to explore all of her interests, delving into linguistics, biology, and computer science. Originally thinking she might find a home in bioinformatics she continued her explorations and, instead settled on the world of software development. This affinity for the craft pulled her all the way to Mutually Human where she dazzled and awed.
Stella is most excited about how quickly she's learning new material with her compatriots and is looking forward to tackling mobile development. Welcome, Stella!
Sydney Ryan, Software Apprentice:
Born and raised in Minneapolis, MN, Sydney spent her childhood days reading about medieval mice and twin detectives, and her evenings playing "night games" in the collective backyard of her neighborhood. She is the eldest child of an engineer and a physical therapist who filled their home with daughters and computers; two of the coolest things on the planet.
After struggling with memorization and mathematics as a young child, Sydney discovered her talent for logic and abstraction in 6th grade Algebra 1. This propensity for seeing the big picture led her to a Mathematics degree and a peaked interest in Computer Science while attending Grinnell College. Shortly before graduation, Sydney applied to a group of small companies that "had a certain feel" and hit the road to interview. Long story short: we met her; we loved her; we hired her.
Sydney is most excited about the variety a consultancy like Mutually Human has to offer. She loves the idea of being adept at many different things and is looking forward to the opportunity to solve bigger and bigger problems. Welcome, Sydney!