Community Member Spotlight: Andrew Choi

Meet Andrew Choi, Application Developer for Alexander Babbage and Tech Square ATL (TSQATL) Social Club member. When he’s not building new data visualization tools to help clients make better business decisions with their data, you can find him working out at the gym or practicing his newfound favorite cardio exercise: salsa dancing.

“[This photo was taken in] Ho Chi Minh City during Tet, [which is] the Vietnamese New Year holiday.”

As part of our Community Member Spotlight series, we caught up with Andrew about how his web development career started, what he’s been working on recently, why he chose salsa dancing as a new hobby, and what he thinks about Tech Square ATL Social Club.

Enjoying a lively night out with friends in Vietnam.

Q: How did you get into web development?

A: I’ve always been really interested in technology. I worked as an English teacher abroad in Asia, and I got involved with the tech community there. The people I met convinced me to get into web development, and [so I got an] internship while I was there. [When] I came back to Atlanta two years ago, I [completed] a 16-week programming bootcamp at Digital Crafts. That’s how I got started [in web development].

Q: What is your role in the Alexander Babbage team?

A: I’m an application developer in the research and development team. I work on [the development of] client dashboards for data analytics, by visualizing consumer GPS data so they can help their customers better. For example, by geofencing around a specific area, we’re able to figure out the demographics of those who are in the property through cellular data points. Though we’re able to see which devices have been in that area, there’s nothing specific tied to personal details.

Q: What’s a recent project that you’re most proud of?

A: Before I started working at Alexander Babbage, all of our [data] charts were [formatted] in Google Charts. In the last few months, I was heavily involved in helping the team transition from Google Charts to Canvas.js. The reason why we made the decision to switch to Canvas.js is because it helps load charts much faster.

Q: What excites you most about the work you’re doing now?

A: I really enjoy building new [analytics dashboard] features and creating data visualization tools that people find useful.

Q: What got you into salsa dancing?

A: I was looking for a cardio activity. I thought that [salsa dancing] would be fun, and that it could get me out of my comfort zone.

Q: What's one thing you would tell people about Tech Square ATL Social Club?

A: The people here are friendly and nice. You want to be in a kind of working environment where you get to talk to other people who are positive, and have similar interests that don’t necessarily always relate to tech. 

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DID YOU KNOW?

The typical salsa music tempo is between 150 to 250 beats per minute.

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What’s a new activity or hobby you recently tried with the intention of getting out of your comfort zone? Let us know in the comments below.