Say Hello to Sean, Our Newest Gator!
Welcome Sean Hewitt to the Gatorworks team! With a unique background and a passion for problem-solving, Sean brings a fresh perspective to our development team. From marine life to front-end builds, he’s always exploring, learning, and creating. Let’s get to know him a little better.
You weren’t always a developer! What did you do prior to working at Gatorworks?
That’s right! Before Gatorworks, I worked in the Zoo and Aquarium industry for about 15 years before switching gears. I worked in several different roles, but I was primarily responsible for taking care of the animals (mainly fish), diving in the exhibits, preparing diets, and educating guests about the different species they were going to be seeing. I had the opportunity to work with a wide variety of exotic animals and hopefully make a small but still meaningful impact on animal conservation and habitat preservation.
Rumor has it that you’re a big nerd. Favorite fandom?
Of course, well, I’m a pretty big gamer and have been since I was a kid. Some of my favorite series include Final Fantasy, Dark Souls, Fallout, and Metal Gear.
Really, I play just about anything and everything I can get my hands on that looks fun. I’m also into anime, and some of my favorites there include “Demon Slayer”, “Berserk”, “Cowboy Bebop”, any Studio Ghibli movie, and “One Punch Man. “
How did you first start learning how to code?
I was first introduced to coding when I took a computer science course my sophomore year in high school that I enjoyed so much I took the second level my following year. At the time, we were learning with Visual Basic and C++. Much later on, when I decided I wanted to change career paths, I thought about how much I enjoyed those comp sci classes back then, so I decided to pursue that on my own time. I utilized a fairly wide variety of resources, including educational tutorials on YouTube, reading through coding forums, paid bootcamps, and a very helpful website called freecodecamp. The internet has grown so much since I was in high school, and there are an endless amount of helpful places you can go to learn how to code.
What’s the thing you love most about development?
I think what I enjoy the most is creating something and seeing it develop from start to finish. In a way, it’s like a really large puzzle that you have to solve, and you start with one piece of it and it grows until you finally have a completed picture in front of you. There’s little challenges and roadblocks along the way, but that makes it all the more satisfying to see the finished product.
What’s your favorite animated character of all time?
This is a really good question and a really hard one to choose too. If I had to nail it down to one it would probably be Spike Spiegel from the anime “Cowboy Bebop.” I think what makes him a great character is that he is undeniably cool, skillful, charming, stoic, and a talented fighter, but at the same time, he is also very flawed and has a dark past. He is the definition of a morally gray character, and I think that adds some humanity to him and makes him a more believable and relatable character.
Do you have a favorite fish? (not to eat but to take care of)
I was always an elasmobranch kind of guy, so that would include your cartilaginous fish like sharks and rays. Cownose rays were really fun to take care of, like little puppy dogs in the water that would swarm you and eat right out of the palm of your hand. Nurse sharks were also some of my favorites as well. They aren’t the traditional Jaws-style style intimidating type of shark. You’re most likely to find them hanging out in a dog pile of other nurse sharks at the bottom, chilling and taking a nap. And that’s something I can absolutely relate to.