Throughout my degree, I have established skills in algorithm analysis, data analysis and, understanding computer systems and hardware. In 2024, I have put these skills into practice in club projects, leadership roles, company events and other work experience.
During my second internship, I collaborated with multiple teams within the Fitbit product area on a full-stack project designed to enable users to view metrics as incentives for engaging with the product. I used big data frameworks to build a data processing pipeline and gained valuable experience in Android development. One of the most challenging yet rewarding aspects of this experience was having the freedom to determine the best approach for implementing the feature. Additionally, working across teams gave me deeper insights into large-scale code architecture and full-stack development.
As a technical executive, I worked closely with a small team of developers to build the BizTech club website. With only two weeks to complete the project, I was incredibly proud of how the team came together to deliver such a polished and professional result. You can view the site here.
Throughout my internship, I worked on a feature for the Photos iOS team, taking it from the design doc stage, all the way through to preparing it for launch. I discovered the developer workflow, protocol oriented programming, and how to extend an existing framework to develop new features. After developing the feature, I also looked at refactoring the code to increase its reusability and (as we were using the MVVM design pattern) created a generic view which would be implemented into our feature using composition. This project was particularly exciting as there was a high expected increase in user engagement (around 52%).
Having gained a financial interest through my work for Retirement Planning, I soon discovered the role of a trader; a perfect way to combine finance with my love of computer science. I interviewed and was accepted for a position on the Ladies in Trading program where I met an incredible group of likeminded young women. Throughout the event we participated in trading games, shadowed traders and created auto trader bots using python.
During 2023 I joined the Web Development and Consultancy Club at the University of Auckland, and interviewed to be a part of one of their nine projects. Throughout the year, I got to work with an incredible group of student developers to design and build an API that would allow students to check their club memberships across the university’s clubs. More recently, our API has attracted interest from outside youth organisations, who are considering integrating the API into their own sites. You can view the membership checker here.
In April 2023, the Retirement Planning Ltd. gained interest from a large insurance firm, who wanted to create a similar suite of tools for their clients. With the increased attention, our team moved to researching data management and dev processes - I was tasked with creating a robust Dev process to ensure that all projects were documented and organised. In addition to the creation of these processes, my team was also tasked with updating the security of the site. We have now begun the integration of OpenSSL encryption into the site to provide more security to all users.
Throughout 2021, I began working on my first web development project - a digital platform for a recent fintech start up Retirement Planning Ltd.. In 2022 I continued in the development of the platform, and took on the task of creating an advisor directory on their second site ‘The Advice Platform’. At the beginning of 2023, The Retirement Platform received attention from a major NZ bank, resulting in the redesign and update of the site as well as the creation of a number of new calculators. Throughout this period I focused on creating a number of new calculators, such as the Retirement Savings Calculator (which allows clients to project their savings throughout their retirement), and more recently an integration of ChatGPT as a financial help tool.
I can code in Python, Java, Swift, Objective C, C and R, and, being self taught in many of these languages, know how to apply my knowledge to learn and become proficient in other languages. My current positions in web development have also allowed me to explore HTML, CSS, JS/TypeScript, as well as WordPress and some development frameworks (e.g. React). In addition, I am able to use many Adobe and Office products, including Photoshop and Illustrator (the latter of which was used to create the images on this site).
I am extremely self motivated, and, being self-taught in many of my current skills, I am adept at independently understanding and performing new concepts. This allows me to be a valuable team member: I persevere in any task set, and love to contribute and collaborate on projects, while ensuring they are completed to a high standard and in a timely fashion.
I am extremely organised, completing tasks well before they are due. I always ensure that resources and tasks are kept up to date and are stored in an orderly and comprehensive fashion. I am also efficient at communicating: I consistently respond to messages, am aware of updates and the latest information, and am practiced at effectively communicating messages.
I have played the violin for 13 years. In 2021, I completed my ATCL Trinity College London Diploma, after having completed ABRSM grades 5 - 8 with distinction. I joined my school’s senior orchestra in 2015, and in 2021, lead and soloed for the chamber orchestra, earning a Gold Award and a ‘Best Soloist’ nomination at the KBB music Festival. I was also a member of the Auckland Youth Orchestra in 2019 - 2022, and have toured and performed with this orchestra as a first violinist. In addition to the violin, I was also a member of the Auckland Youth Choir in 2022, and prior to this, was a member of the school choir that was accepted into ‘Cadenza’ at the big sing festival.
In 2020 - 2022, I became one of the only teen Suzuki violin teachers in Auckland, teaching children from age 3 - 11. I taught under the mentorship of my current teacher in the Suzuki on the Shore violin studio, and many of my students are currently in the North Shore Junior Orchestra, play for their own school orchestras or have recently joined the ‘String Alongs’ - the preliminary to the Junior orchestra.
At St Mary’s, I completed my Bronze, Silver, and Gold duke of Ed, and as part of this, participated in the Spirit of Adventure 10 day voyage at the beginning of 2021.
In 2020, I was accepted to be one of 100 candidates from around the world to participate in the Barcelona International Youth Science Camp, in the research group ‘Quantum Mechanics and its role in upcoming technologies’. Unfortunately, this was cancelled two years in a row due to COVID-19.
Contact: PO Box 32587, Devonport, Auckland 0744 | miles.flower@retirementplanning.nz | +64 21 645 000
Contact: 11 New St, St Mary's Bay, 1011 | bchambers@stmaryak.school.nz | +64 21 029 111 86
Contact: 11 New St, St Mary's Bay, 1011 | bridgetphansen@gmail.com | +64 21 275 8533
I am an independent, self-motivated, and enthusiastic computer science student who is passionate about problem solving. I love music, French, and a good hike with my family, and I will never say no to a challenge!
Designed by Bethany Yates