Will Hick

Website Details

This website is both a functional web CV and a demonstration of my technical skills.

All code written from scratch in HTML, CSS, & JavaScript
100% running on Amazon Web Services
Hosted on an Amazon Web Services (AWS) S3 Bucket, using AWS CloudFront for HTTPS security, and AWS Route 53 for the domain name
Using a Python AWS Lambda function and connected with AWS API Gateway, allowing me to tell you this site has been visited Loading... times, with that visit count being fetched from AWS DynamoDB
All AWS infrastructure managed through Terraform, enabling automation, consistency, and version control with Git
Using the concept of CI/CD, all updates to frontend are pushed live automatically with GitHub Actions

Profile

I am a second-year Computer Science student at Northumbria University, and an aspiring DevOps Engineer.

Throughout my personal life and studies, I have amassed a variety of skills, including a good understanding of computer science fundamentals, Python to a great standard, and a strong understanding of the intricacies and challenges involved in shipping full-stack software and web services.

My career goal is to work as a DevOps & Cloud Operations Engineer, and I am currently working on a variety of projects to help me achieve this goal while balancing my university studies, in which I am on track to achieve a 1st Class BSc in 2027.

Education

Northumbria University - Newcastle, UK

Bachelor of Science (BSc) Computer Science - September 2023 - June 2027

Degree Classification: Expected 1st Class Honours (72% average at Level 4)
Modules: AI Fundamentals, Computational Thinking, Computing Fundamentals, Computers & Society, Data Fundamentals, Programming

Harrogate Grammar School Sixth Form - Harrogate, UK

A-Levels:

Computer Science
Biology
Chemistry

Projects

University Projects:

Training and application of facial recognition model - Microsoft Azure
- Trained a CNN using manually aggregated data, and deployed it to Azure to be used in a web app.
- Analysed performance metrics with Python-generated graphs.
Personal note taking web app - Python, Flask, HTML, CSS, JavaScript
- Built a Flask backend for seamless page switching and frontend communication.
- Developed the frontend using Bootstrap (HTML, CSS, JavaScript), and stored notes in a CSV.
Data analysis of database - Python
- Performed dataset overview, cleaning with KNN algorithm (Scikit-learn).
- Visualised data using Pandas (line graphs, bar charts, heatmaps).

Personal Projects

PlotCypher
- A Wordle-like media guessing game.
- Created using React with JS, fully frontend, no backend dependency.
- GitHub Repository.
- Play it now!
Cloud CV Website (you're looking at it!)
- A static cloud CV website deployed on AWS, to familiarise myself with DevOps processes.
- Details of project can be read at the top of this page.
- Following the Cloud Resume Challenge.
- GitHub Repository.
More on my GitHub.
Endless Quiz App - Python, HTML, CSS, JavaScript
- Created and deployed my first fullstack web app using Django.
- Frontend made with Django Templates, featuring HTML, CSS, Bootstrap 5 CSS library, and limited JavaScript for styling.
- Accountless progress saving, all progress is saved by the Django session and is persistent across browser restarts.
- Deployed to PythonAnywhere, making use of Git for version management and seamless deploying.
- Playable Web Version & GitHub Repository

Technical Skills

DevOps and Cloud

Docker: Experience with containerization for deployment and development
AWS: Comfortable with AWS services and operations, currently studying for the AWS Cloud Practitioner Certification
GitHub Actions: Experience with writing Actions YML files to automate deployment (such as changes to this site's frontend)
Linux: Comfortable with the command line and basic system administration

Programming Languages

Python: Proficient in syntax, OOP, data structures, algorithms, and common libraries
HTML/CSS: Semantic HTML5, modern CSS3, responsive design, Bootstrap, Tailwind CSS
JavaScript: React with Vite, Node.js, Express.js

Frameworks and Libraries

Django and Flask: Experience with REST Frameworks for API development
React/Preact: Experience with primarily Preact (a fork of React which is very similar) for responsive and lightweight frontend development

Tools and Environments

Git: Confident with version control using both Git command-line operations and VSCode integration
VSCode: Primary IDE, with a variety of extensions for Python, Django, and React development

Development Practices

Full-stack web application development
Responsive and accessible web design principles
CRUD principle proficiency
API development and integration with JWT for authentication
Database integration with backend, including hashing and encryption

Generic Work Experience

Kitchen Assistant at multiple firms:

Worked in a fast-paced environment, ensuring the kitchen was clean and organised.
Assisted with food preparation and cooking, and ensured the kitchen was clean and organised.
Developed strong teamwork and communication skills.
Ensured meticulous attention to detail when following food preparation specifications.