EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT
Sarah Turner
Senior Software Developer
Meet Sarah – a talented 💫 software developer who just joined our team back in December 2023. Sarah plays a leading role in our development team’s daily scrum meetings. When she’s not coding her heart out, she’s writing technical reviews and fielding support tickets to ensure all systems go. On a personal level, Sarah is a die-hard fan of Marvel movies claiming to watch all of the series’ multiple times over. She also has LEGO set collection on display that will blow your mind. 🤯
Keep reading to get to know more about our friend, Sarah!
What is your current position with FastTrack?
I am a senior software developer, and I have been with FastTrack for just over 3 months! I absolutely love working for such a wonderful company and could not be more grateful! 🙌
What is your typical workday like?
Each day and week at FastTrack is a little different. Last week, I had the pleasure of being selected as the first developer to run our daily scrum meetings, a new thing we are trying, and had a blast running them! 🚀
I also recently started working on more technical reviews. However, most days it is a lot of coding (obviously) and working through/testing the tickets assigned to me.
I also spend a lot of time collaborating with other developers on solutions, which is probably one of my favorite aspects of my position here at FastTrack.
Do you work with any specific customers?
Recently, I have been mostly focused on Amalgamated, however, I have worked with a wide range of our customers in one way or another.
How has FastTrack helped your personal and professional development?
Working at FastTrack has helped tremendously on both fronts! Professionally speaking, I was able to take a course on Unit Testing to increase my knowledge to help make our testing process smoother and more intuitive. I’ve already been able to put some of that knowledge to use. I also have been able to collaborate with other developers to teach them what I’ve learned and expand their knowledge on the subject as well.
How has FastTrack helped your personal and professional development?
FastTrack is an amazing company 💫 to work for. The collaboration and teamwork go unmatched in comparison to any other organization I have worked for, and in three short months, I have gained many friends. The open-door policy, developer training, and AMA(Ask me anything) meetings allows us to continuously improve, have input in decisions, and get assistance whenever it is needed.
The phrase “We’re like a family”, seems to be overused a lot in today’s world, but here, it actually FEELS like we are a family. It’s incredible to work for a company that cares as much about their employees as they do their customer’s…. which is A LOT! I also love that we have little contests which turns everyday activities into something that is really fun and exciting! Plus, FastTrack cares that the products they produce help people, which has always been extremely important to me. 🤗
Do you have any accomplishments within the organization you’re particularly proud of?
Being selected to be the first developer to run our daily stand-up meetings! 💪
What is your favorite media, series, or book?
My favorite movies include Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Labyrinth, and Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It’s a wide range, but in my opinion, they are classics and I love them all equally.
As for video games, I love playing Call of Duty and pretty much any Mario game.
My favorite “series”, if you could call it that, is quite literally anything from Marvel 🦸♀️. I have watched every single movie they have ever made multiple times. Since they are now tying in the older marvel shows, I’m currently watching the lesser-known shows (ie. Iron Fist, The Punisher, The Defenders, and Jessica Jones). They were never an integral part of the sagas, so I had never watched them, but I’m enjoying the fact that I don’t have to wait for the next movie/series to have something new to watch.
Out of all of them, I think Loki seasons 1 & 2 are currently my favorite. It is cool to see how Loki has evolved over the course of the sagas and in his own series.
Do you have any pets?
I have one cat 🐈, a tabby mix, that I just adopted a few weeks ago. Her name is Sylvie, named after the female Loki variant! 😆
Do you have any hobbies or special interests?
I am obsessed with Lego 😍. We have over 300 (❗️) Lego sets on display in our house. You actually cannot find a room in my home that does not have a Lego set on display. Even all of our plants are Lego! 🪴
Another hobby that I have picked up in the last year and a half would be running 🏃🏻♀️. So far I have run in 11 in-person races, and have done 3 virtual races. I am currently training to run the 50th anniversary of the Berlin Marathon🥇 later this year.
I also love doing home remodels/upgrades/repairs 🔨. My stepfather taught me how to do pretty much anything you would ever need to do around a home. My sister, cousin, and I actually had a blog about DIY projects a few years ago. Where I had a blog post go viral on how to paint brick a different color to look like actual brick, and not just a solid color. It was very time consuming, but probably was one of my favorite projects I’ve ever done, and have helped friends with their fireplaces as well!
What type of activities are you most likely to be up to on the weekends?
On the weekends you can find me building Lego, traveling to random places/exhibits, and spending time with my family. ❤️
What is your favorite vacation destination?
I can’t say I have a favorite vacation destination, as each place I’ve visited has something different that would make it my favorite. My top 3 would be London 🇬🇧, Australia 🇦🇺(particularly Sydney or Cairns), and Mexico 🇲🇽.
One place I haven’t visited but I cannot wait to go to in the future is Ireland 🇮🇪! I’ve always dreamed of going to Ireland and hope to make that dream come true in the next few years.
What’s the first thing you would do if you won the lottery?
Buy a lake house 🏠 and then find a really good money manager! 😆
What’s something you loved doing as a kid? Do you still do it now?
Lego! All the Lego! I do still build them now! 🙌
Do you have any unique or hidden talents?
I (used) to be able to solve a Rubik Cube in under a minute 🤯. However, I’d have to pick one up again and see if I can still do it!
Who is one of your personal heroes?
My personal hero would have to be my late grandfather 🥰. He may not have been what people would call the most “accomplished” man, but he was so wise. He was a quiet man, who always was there when you needed good advice and always had a joke to lighten the mood.
Have you ever had an encounter with anyone famous?
I’ve had two that I can actually remember, but I’m sure I’m forgetting a few.
I met Ian Happ (a Cubs baseball player) in January of this year (2024). I was able to have him sign a baseball that he threw to me at a game and get a picture with him! He was the nicest guy I’ve ever met!
I was also about a foot away from Eminem at a Lion’s game during the playoffs. He was leaving, and just looked at me before he quickly exited down the stairs.
What is your motto for life?
Funny motto: When life gives you lemons, make orange juice and leave everyone wondering how you did it.
Serious Motto: Set some goals, then demolish them.
What are your top most overused words or phrases?
Literally, In my opinion, and Absolutely!
What’s a surprising fact about yourself?
I’m getting married 💍, this Saturday (4-20-24), at Wrigley field, before the Cubs game! Go Cubs Go! 🏟
If there was a movie about your life made, who would you want the narrator to be?
Morgan Freeman
Do you have any nicknames?
Rah, Lemon, Boo/Boo-Boo, and Little Piranha.
Is there anything else that you’d like people to know about you?
I have always had a passion ❤️ for technology! When I was little, I even created a computer out of construction paper (complete with floppy disks 🤣) so I could play with one when another member of the family was on our family computer.
I always knew I wanted to be a developer; however, it took me almost 7 years after I graduated college (the first time) to convince myself I could do it as a career. I went back to school, got my bachelor’s in computer science, and went on to get my masters.
Development and programming have always been my calling and I couldn’t ask for a better career! 🚀
Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn
