Greetings. My name is Chelsea. I have spent most of my life living and working in the vibrant city of Cape Town, South Africa.
I first ventured into the world of IT in my first year of university (2018). A little late, some may note, but as the common phrase goes better late than never. I had decided on majoring in Computer Science to accompany my Bachelor of Business Science. A slight less common route, which was evident by the number to students in that specialisation, which is a grant total of 8. Albeit slightly different, I thoroughly enjoyed the intersection of business and science. My university years were filled with many clubs and societies. The most prominent one being the UCT Developer Society. This was one of my passion projects during my time at UCT. I spent many hours preparing for events, coordinating with tech companies and hosting meetings. Driven by a passion to help students find their feet within the tech industry, our society held multiple events to teach and assist students with acquiring work once they had finished their studies. One of the main events held was an event focused on connecting students to holiday internships, which is how I met my future employer. I completed an internship with Electrum in 2021, which led to them offering me a bursary and a permanent full time role post completion of my studies. I eventually graduated from university in March 2021 receiving a distinction for my computer science coursework and thesis based on a classical approach to identifying geographical data of orchards.
I began working for Electrum Payments in January 2021. They are a fast-paced fintech technology company working with large players in the South African economy. They leverage powerful technology to make transacting cheaper, to achieve their goal of higher financial inclusion. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Electrum, as they have a very people-centred approach to how they operate. I learnt many valuable skills within this environment, such as development through a full SDLC process, decent coding practises, maintaining legacy systems, liaising with customers and leading projects. I was also taught invaluable soft skills such as, embracing mistakes as a normal part of the human condition, being an authentic leader, growing a team and interpersonal relationships. During my time as a developer, I was promoted to a team lead where I managed a team of 6 brilliant engineers/business analysts. This transition was difficult and challenging for me, but incredibly rewarding and inline with my passions. I made plenty of mistakes and learnt so much. It opened my eyes to how much I enjoyed working with people and where I’d ideally like my future career to develop.
I aspire to live a balanced healthy life. My favourite place to be in on the mountain looking down at the mother city. I love my family and friends and talk about them all the time (apologies in advance). I am currently spending the year (2025) travelling around the world, as I decided I needed to see more of the world before becoming too old and responsible. I have spent the first half of the year working and traveling in Asia and I intend to spend the next part in Europe and Africa. I have seen and experienced so much that I hope to take back home with me.
So that’s a little about lil’ ole me. Thanks for reading x
