Erik Richard

About Me

Hello! My name is Erik and I'm an experienced Web Developer & Marketing Coordinator. My interest in programming can be traced back to 2003, when I taught myself the basics of HTML & CSS to make websites to share photos of my friends and I skateboarding. Though the websites were very rudimentary it gave me a solid understanding of how browsers render web pages.

Having enrolled in Springboard's Software Engineering Career Track program through the University of Massachusetts I was able to elevate my software engineering skills to produce full-stack, interactive & dynamic web applications. Since graduating the program I have worked on several full-stack personal projects & had obtained multiple certifications to expand on my knowledge while volunteering my time to help to fellow students currently enrolled in the Springboard program through their Slack channel.

My Tech Stack Includes:

Some things I've built

A full collection of projects can be found on my GitHub.

Traveling Disc Project

This is a disc golf related full stack application where a disc is left on a disc golf course with a printed QR code to take the user to a check in form to "check in" the disc at that course. The disc will then be left for another person to find. The next finder will be able to take the disc to another course and check it in there. This process repeats itself and users can see where the disc has been and how far the disc has travelled.
Tech Stack: React, Vite, Geoapify API, Node, Postgresql, Express
Git Repository (frontend): https://github.com/erichard413/disctracker-app-frontend
Git Repository (backend): https://github.com/erichard413/disctracker-app-backend
Deployed Link: https://travelingdisc.com
Challenges: Some challenges for this project included writing cleaner code, creating dynamic & reusable modal components, implementing design that focuses on user interaction and simplicity, using mobile first design best practices.

Google Calendar Clone

This is a functional calendar application where the user can add/edit/delete events for a given day.
Tech Stack: React, Vite, Typescript
Git Repository: https://github.com/erichard413/31-32-google-calendar-clone
Deployed Link: https://erichard413.github.io/31-32-google-calendar-clone/
Challenges: The main goal of this project is to create a simple calendar application similar to Google Calendar. While this is a vastly simplified version of Google Calendar it is still quite complicated and requires lots of unique and interesting code. This project was written entirely in TypeScript.

Client Bank Locator

This is a client bank locator made for my employer. This app will allow users to search for near by client banks that provide Convenient Cards products. Users can narrow the search based on miles away from a given address, and filter by product.
Tech Stack: React, Vite, GoogleMapsAPI, Geoapify API
Git Repository: https://github.com/erichard413/cc-bank-locator
Deployed Link: https://cc-bank-locator.netlify.app
Challenges: This project came up as an internal need for our team to have a fast and easy tool to look up client banks in a given area. One important aspect was not to expose an entire listing of all of our clients, rather only show clients closed to a desired area. For this project I learned about how to calculate distances from latitude/longitude points using the Haversine formula & learned about Geocoding APIs.

NHLStats App

This is my Capstone project for Springboard/UMASS Global Software Engineering Bootcamp. This app provides an easy place to look up National Hockey League (NHL) hockey stats, track watched players and teams & playoffs information. *Update: as of September 2023 the NHL deprecated their public API, this app is no longer functional.
Tech Stack: React, React Router, Express, NodeJs, PostgreSQL, NHL API
Git Repository (frontend): https://github.com/erichard413/capstone-frontend
Git Repository (backend): https://github.com/erichard413/capstone-backend
Deployed Link: https://nhlstats-app.netlify.app
Challenges: When making this project I had to think hard about what data to save to my database versus what data should be retrieved from the NHL API. Along with this other challenges included implementing dynamic CSS styles based on users' favorite team, state management & storing user data.

Jobly

This was a project for Springboard/UMASS Global Software Engineering Bootcamp curriculum. This is a mock up of a job posting application where users can log in, sign up and apply for jobs. Back end was provided - I was tasked with creating the front-end from scratch using React.
Tech Stack: React, React Router, Express, NodeJs, PostgreSQL
Git Repository: https://github.com/erichard413/jobly-react
Deployed Link: https://dysfunctional-paste.surge.sh/
Challenges: Some of the challenges this project presented was managing user data based on stored token, protecting routes for only logged in users, implementing useContext to manage state, & creating a satisfying search feature using Lodash debounce.

Hack or Snooze

In this project, I've built a functional clone of Hacker News, a popular tech news aggregator. The app allows users to create accounts and log in, save their favorite articles & upload stories of their own. This project was to practice using AJAX and APIs along with javascript & CSS.
Tech Stack: Javascript, HTML, CSS, AJAX, Axios, 'Hack or Snooze' API
Git Repository: https://github.com/erichard413/HackOrSnooze
Deployed Link: https://erichard413.github.io/HackOrSnooze/

React Jokes App

A joke app where users can vote up or down 5 random jokes & save jokes from ICanHazDadJokeAPI using ReactJS.
Tech Stack: React, Axios, ICanHazDadJokeAPI
Git Repository: https://github.com/erichard413/react-jokes
Deployed Link: https://erichard413.github.io/react-jokes/

Connect Four

Connect4 is playable with two players. Or just play with yourself, whatever.
Tech Stack: Javascript, HTML, CSS
Git Repository: https://github.com/erichard413/Connect4
Deployed Link: https://erichard413.github.io/Connect4/

Education

React Simplified - Advanced

December 2023
Certificate of Completion - Advanced React Course
Attended online certification course covering advanced React concepts such as advanced hooks, CSS alternatives, typescript & type safety, performance & testing, clean code & asynchronous react-router implementation.
Skills: React, Vite, Typescript, Advanced React Hooks, Asynchronous react-router implementation, React best practices & unit tests using vitest.
Credential: View

University of Massachusetts Global - Springboard

June 2022 - April 2023
Software Engineering Career Track Certification, Computer Software Engineering
Completed a demanding 800+ hours of hands-on course material along with weekly one on one discussions with an industry expert mentor. Responsible for completing projects on time, developing, designing and planning full stack projects. Gained mastery in skills in front-end web development, back-end web development, relational database management, as well as advanced computer science topics such as datastructures & algorithms.
Skills: Javascript, HTML, CSS, Python, SQL, Flask, NodeJS, Express, API Development, REST APIs, React, AJAX Frameworks, PostgreSQL, Web Development, & more
Credential: View

University of Massachusetts Amherst

Spring 2006 - Fall 2010
Bachelors Degree in Business Administration: Marketing
Obtained four year degree from the Isenberg School of Management.
Skills: Marketing concepts, Business communication strategies, Management skills

Where I've Worked

Marketing Coordinator @ Convenient Cards

January 2015 - Present
Convenient Cards, Inc. is a leading provider of prepaid card programs for community banks and Native American tribes.
Responsibilities:
- Manages web content on the website www.convenientcards.com
- Creating digital marketing content such as landing pages, email marketing & social media content
- Facilitating the planning and implementation of marketing initiatives
- Planning logistics, campaigns & tradehows

Internet Marketing Specialist @ Herb Chambers

May 2014 - November 2014
Car dealerships located in the greater Boston, MA area.
Responsibilities:
- Broadcasted consistent marketing message to drive web traffic
- Photographed cars for website listings
- Wrote compelling write ups for car listings on website
- Designed, planned & implemented email marketing