Coming to programming via Lingusitics is an exercise in commonalities: the features which make human languages work also make computer languages work, in a fine interplay of syntax, semantics, and formal logic. In some ways, computer language is a linguist's playground. Programming grammars are just a bit more explicit than spoken languages when it comes to telling you how everything functions.
For the five years of my undergraduate education at the University of Iowa, I worked at the Iowa Memorial Union's award-winning office of Marketing and Design. Starting early, I worked on interactive systems with PHP and MySQL - content management, project management, public housing listings, etc. I taught myself the basics of PHP/MySQL, and developing in a demanding environment taught me the rest – why never to use an enum field, the power of double variables, the importance of modularization...
After leaving that student position, I migrated over the the University's central HR building and took up a position in Information Management, Finance & Operations, where I'm working on financial applications using ColdFusion and SQL.
To see a bit of my work, please head on over to the Portfolio page. To take a peek at some recommended reading, head to Resources.