Allow me to introduce myself: I'm Sion Wilks.

While many engineers enjoy building for the sake of building, my passion has always been in creating things that derive tangible value. From a young age, I spent countless hours customizing my Android phone, driven by a desire to enhance its user experience rather than just use it. This early fascination with improving usability has translated into a career focused on building interfaces and user experiences that help users get the most out of the complex systems they interact with.

Earning my computer science degree at UW-Madison was intellectually rewarding, but there was a tendency to look down on UX and UI work as not "real" engineering. It took some time in the industry for me to reconcile my passion for delightful user experiences with my desire to do intricate engineering work. Once I realized that front-end engineering can be as complex as back-end engineering, but with a unique focus on user experience, I embraced it fully.

I've immersed myself in front-end engineering, learning from respected educators like Josh Comeau and more controversial figures like Theo. Over the past year and a half, my weekends have been dedicated to understanding open-source libraries, building web applications to consolidate my knowledge, and continually improving my skills. Additionally, I have been working as a Front-end Engineer at Target since graduating college, focusing on internal applications for Target's supply chain.

A major factor in my rapid upskilling has been leveraging the latest chatbot capabilities, alongside cutting-edge tools and custom workflow processes I've developed. This innovative approach has significantly accelerated my learning and broadened my expertise in front-end engineering.