TILF Success Stories: Meet Lindsey Parker

Posted by Trudy Richards on 12/08/2014

 
 

Competing in UIL Computer Applications helped Lindsey Parker decide on a career in programming and web development.

Walking into her internship with PricewaterhouseCoopers, a multinational accounting firm, Lindsey Parker was more than prepared. With years of competition in UIL Computer Applications under her belt, she was able to bring her expertise to the new Tax, Technology, and Compliance practice of the firm.

A senior studying Management Information Systems with a concentration in Business Analysis at Texas Tech University, Lindsey is a recipient of the CH Foundation Special scholarship through TILF. She is also a member of the Beta Upsilon chapter of Delta Sigma Pi, a national business co-ed fraternity, and a student assistant for the Operations Division of the Texas Tech University System. Following her graduation this January, she will be relocating from Lubbock to Dallas to accept a position as a web developer for PricewaterhouseCoopers, where she had the opportunity to intern this past summer.

“The practice was very new, it was less than a year old. So I was actually part of the first group of interns,” Lindsey said.

Lindsey and her colleagues created a database access application that the company offers clients to this day.

“We spent all summer completing that, and at the end we gave a big presentation to all the members of the practice, our partner, and all the mentors we got to work with. We demoed our project and it’s actually something they’re still using,” Lindsey said.

“I was in charge of all the front-end design—anything you see on the website. The colors, the layout, the look and feel,” she said.

It is this talent in front-end design and her drive to achieve that landed her a job offer as a web developer for the company.

Lindsey has been able to put the skills she developed during her internship to good use as a student assistant for the Operations Division at Texas Tech.

“A lot of the stuff I learned over the summer, the front-end design work, that’s what I do on a daily basis as a student assistant,” Lindsey said.

Since last January, the TTU Operations Division has been migrating to a new website. Lindsey essentially had to work from scratch to rebuild the website, as the new site had issues with migrating the old design. Now the website is almost complete and visitors will be greeted with Lindsey’s work every time they visit.

“We’ve been remaking each department’s websites. We’re just about wrapping up and by the time I graduate the website should be done,” Lindsey said.

Her love and appreciation for design and business stem from the experience she gained competing in the UIL Computer Applications contest during high school.

“In high school I was certified in Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. I noticed that I picked up on that kind of stuff really well, so that’s why I started competing in Computer Applications. I just realized I had a knack for programs,” Lindsey said.

Not only did UIL help Lindsey realize her calling, but competition prepared her for the responsibilities she would have while working as a developer.

“When you competed, you did things you would actually have to do for a job. You had to get out these deliverables, and put out the best work you could. You’ve also got to finish it in a certain time frame. That’s something I do in my job even now,” Lindsey said.

Despite her aptitude for programming and design, she was still shocked and over-joyed to have qualified for state. “I had no idea that I’d be making it to state. I was just hanging out after my event, and then my advisor came over to me and said they needed me in the awards room,” she said. “It caught me off guard, but I was so excited to have made it.”

Qualifying to state was a major factor in Lindsey deciding what career path she wanted to take. She is grateful for the springboard to success UIL provided to her.

“It helped set the tone for my college career. My parents have always expected greatness from me, and this provided the encouragement to reach that,” Lindsey said.

And employers are noticing too.

“On my resume I listed that I was a TILF scholar, and I always get asked about it,” she said.

Despite her accomplishments, Lindsey has even greater expectations for herself. “There is a lot of room for upward growth. I definitely want to get into more of a management role, merging my development and business backgrounds to be more on the front-end with people; hopefully I will even be a director,” Lindsey said.

She’s part of the revolution of women entering the field of business and programming, and it’s clear Lindsey is taking it all in stride.  As she prepares to begin her career in January, she’s staying true to her dreams of synthesizing business and computer applications into a worthwhile career.

“I’m not a typical programmer or developer, but it’s what I really love doing.”

 

Written by Katarina Antolovic

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