Education & Certifications

My formal education gave me a practical programming foundation, and my ongoing certification and self-directed learning continue to support the kind of production engineering work I enjoy most: backend systems, automation, security-minded development, infrastructure, troubleshooting, and scalable software.

I have always learned best by combining structured education with hands-on experimentation. That mix is what shaped my path from early programming education into professional systems development, startup engineering, AI tooling, automation, and production support.

Information Technology Programming CompTIA Security+ Hands-On Learning Continuous Improvement

NHTI – Concord's Community College

I earned my associate degree in Information Technology with a programming focus from NHTI – Concord's Community College in Concord, New Hampshire. My time at NHTI helped build the technical foundation that led directly into my first professional programming role at Concord Group Insurance.

The program gave me exposure to practical software development concepts, databases, application logic, web development, technical troubleshooting, and the problem-solving mindset needed to work in real business systems.

  • Degree: Associate Degree in Information Technology
  • Focus: Programming / Software Development
  • School: NHTI – Concord's Community College
  • Location: Concord, New Hampshire
  • Dates: September 2012 – June 2014

Programming Foundation

My education at NHTI gave me the base I needed to move from academic programming into professional software development. Shortly before graduating, I began interning at Concord Group Insurance and was offered a full-time programmer analyst role after completing my degree.

That transition from school into a professional development environment helped me quickly understand the difference between writing code for assignments and writing code that supports real users, real business processes, and real production systems.

  • Application development fundamentals.
  • Database-backed business systems.
  • Web development concepts.
  • Programming logic and structured problem solving.
  • Exposure to professional IT and software practices.

CompTIA Security+

I earned the CompTIA Security+ certification in May 2026 as part of my continued effort to strengthen my broader IT and security foundation.

Security+ aligns well with my work because much of my career has involved production reliability, privacy-sensitive data handling, compliance support, infrastructure troubleshooting, and secure internal systems. It is especially relevant to my current work involving internal AI tooling where external AI systems may create export-control or data exposure concerns.

  • Certification: CompTIA Security+
  • Earned: May 2026
  • Focus Areas: security fundamentals, risk, threats, vulnerabilities, secure operations, and infrastructure protection.
  • Professional Relevance: supports secure thinking around automation, internal AI, data handling, system access, and production operations.

Security-Minded Engineering

My security knowledge is not separate from my development work; it reinforces how I think about real systems. Whether working on GDPR-related changes at C3 Metrics, MRC accreditation requirements, internal AI restrictions at NHBB, or general infrastructure support, I have repeatedly worked in situations where data handling and access control mattered.

Security+ helps formalize that experience and provides a stronger vocabulary around risks, controls, threat awareness, and operational safeguards.

  • Privacy-aware development and data handling.
  • Secure internal tooling and restricted AI environments.
  • Awareness of access control, risk, and system exposure.
  • Better communication between software, IT, security, and business teams.

Self-Directed Technical Growth

A large part of my growth has come from self-directed learning, home lab experimentation, and working through difficult production problems. I regularly learn new tools by building something useful with them rather than only reading about them.

That has included local AI models, image generation systems, Python automation, Gmail and Outlook integrations, emulator scripting, OpenWebUI, Ollama, server hosting, SQL optimization, and practical infrastructure troubleshooting.

  • Local AI experimentation through home lab environments.
  • Automation projects built in Python and Lua.
  • Hands-on server, networking, and system troubleshooting.
  • Continuous learning through real projects and production issues.

How Education Shows Up in My Work

The most valuable part of my education was not simply learning syntax; it was learning how to think through technical problems. That foundation has carried through every role I have held.

From automating a USB-licensed reporting system at Concord Group Insurance, to scaling ad-tech systems at C3 Metrics, to modernizing legacy engineering tools and supporting internal AI infrastructure at NHBB, my work has consistently built on that foundation of practical software problem solving.

  • Turn business requirements into working software.
  • Learn unfamiliar systems quickly.
  • Debug under pressure.
  • Build tools that reduce repetitive manual work.
  • Keep improving systems after the first working version ships.

Education Summary

My education started with a formal programming foundation at NHTI and has continued through professional experience, certification, home lab work, AI experimentation, and years of maintaining real production systems.

I view education as an ongoing process. The tools change, the platforms change, and the requirements change, but the underlying skill is the same: learn quickly, understand the system, solve the real problem, and leave the code or process better than it was before.