Kelsey L. Kirk

Information Technology Professional

About Me  |  Experience  |  Education  |  Skills  |  Accolades  |  Contact

I became interested in technology at a very young age. It started with exposure to console and hand-held gaming systems in elementary school, and evolved into a general interest in different types of technologies throughout middle school and high school. Researching, using, and troubleshooting technology has always come to me somewhat naturally, which is why I am pursuing it as my career.


My career in IT started as a Junior at Penn State Harrisburg when I took a course called Organization and Design of Information Systems: Users and System Principles. While I always had a general interest in technology, it was through this class that I discovered my passion for understanding and implementing the principles associated with human-computer interaction, usability, and user experience (UX). This course gave me my first opportunity to lead a project team to design, develop, and launch a website for a real-world client. I had several similar experiences while attending Penn State Harrisburg, and I enjoyed those types of projects so much that I have since found similar projects to work on periodically in my free-time.


ABOUT ME

EXPERIENCE

5+ years of experience in IT project management and leadership

Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills

10+ years of experience with all aspects of software engineering

EDUCATION

Bachelor's Degree - Information Science and Technology

The Pennsylvania State University

Penn State Harrisburg Campus - May 2010

GPA: 3.97

Master's Degree - Software Engineering

The Pennsylvania State University

Penn State World Campus - December 2012

GPA: 3.85

---  Supervisory IT Specialist (Application Software Development) | New Cumberland, PA | September 2016-Present  ---

- Lead by example, especially by remaining professional and focused in difficult or challenging situations, while encouraging my team to do the same

- Serve my team in whatever ways I can, by making sure they have the resources they need and by removing barriers that prevent them from
  completing their tasks
- Responsible for managing the day-to-day activities for a multifaceted application development branch that includes both mid-tier (web and client)
  and mainframe applications
- Execute various project management functions to verify that the software we deliver meets the customer’s requirements and to ensure that projects
  are delivered on time, and within budget
- Facilitate on-going communication with customers and with other supporting teams within the organization, including: requirements and design
  analysts, system testers, implementation specialists, and system security specialists



---  Volunteer Web Administrator | Central PA Region | January 2008-Present  ---

- Partnered with community entities to design, develop, and deploy public facing websites


































---  Lead IT Specialist (Application Software Development) | New Cumberland, PA | January 2016-September 2016  ---

- Provided technical guidance and assistance to the mid-tier (web and client) applications team

- Determined the best approach for a project based on technical feasibility, sustainability, security, priority, scope, and budget
- Served as the liaison between the development team and the other teams (requirements, design, testing, and implementation) within the
  organization
- Performed numerous project management functions to verify projects met design requirements and were delivered on time



---  Lecturer Level II | Penn State Harrisburg | Middletown, PA | August 2013-December 2016  ---

- Designed and gathered course materials, delivered lectures, led class discussions, graded assignments, administered exams, and guided students’
  participation in semester-long projects for: IST 220 (Introduction to Networking and Telecommunications), MIS 204 (Introduction to Business
  Information Systems), and IST 331 (Organization and Design of Information Systems: User and System Principles)



---  IT Specialist (Application Software Development) | New Cumberland, PA | September 2014-January 2016  ---

- Responsible for developing, testing, and supporting various mid-tier (web and client) applications
- Collaborated with the design team to make sure that the development team had a complete understanding of requirements for projects
- Provided level of effort estimates to project managers, and coordinated with the mid-tier applications team to distribute workload
- Determined how to prioritize and schedule workload for various mid-tier (web and client) applications
- Implemented numerous improvements for the application development life cycle for the mid-tier (web and client) applications by defining new

  processes and streamlining existing processes



---  IT Specialist (Systems Analysis) | New Cumberland, PA | May 2014-September 2014  ---

- Performed functional and technical analysis for various mid-tier (web and client) and mainframe applications
- Established a source control environment and drafted source code management policies and procedures for the mid-tier (web and client)
  applications



---  IT Specialist (Application Software Development) | Mechanicsburg, PA | June 2008-May 2014  ---

- Conducted various project management tasks (like creating a multi-year work breakdown structure) to lead a management-directed project to
  re-engineer an unsupported and outdated enterprise-level client/server application onto a supported and modernized web interface
- Implemented framework components and developed custom application infrastructure to support the enterprise-level application
- Developed a great understanding of the overall technical structure, operation, and performance of the various technologies and software
  development life cycle processes that were used to architect the application
- Identified and analyzed business and technical requirements, and made recommendations on how to use new or existing features to deliver those
  requirements
- Provided recommendations on how to improve the usability, efficiency, sustainability, scalability, reliability, and security of the application
- Wrote technical documentation (like step-by-step technical procedures, software development guidelines, and training manuals) that could be used
  and understood by broad audiences, including analysts, other developers, and project managers
- Conducted feasibility studies for proof of concept projects- Consistently dedicated to developing information assurance and improving application security

- Presented various briefings to internal teams, management, and agency leaders

SKILLS

Web application development using Microsoft .NET Framework (VB and C#)


Website development using web technologies like HTML, JavaScript, and CSS


Website development using Content Management Systems like Joomla!


Mobile application development using Android SDK


Database development using PL/SQL (Oracle 12c) and T-SQL (Microsoft SQL Server)


Produce functional and technical documentation using IEEE 830 and UML


Use Microsoft Office, Visio, and Project to create documentation, presentations, diagrams, etc.


Implement various principles associated with usability and user experience (UX)


Carry out functions associated with each of the phases of the software development life cycle

ACCOLADES

---  Academic  ---

- 2010 Penn State Harrisburg Alumni Society's Outstanding Senior Award

- 2010 Penn State Ralph Dorn Hetzel Memorial Award

- 2009 Penn State Evan Pugh Scholar Award

- 2009 Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi

- 2008 abc27 Hometown Hero

- 2008 Penn State President Sparks Award

- 2007 Penn State President's Freshman Award

- 2006-2010 Penn State Harrisburg Honors Program

---  Professional ---

- 2017 TCCP WIT Awards: Next Gen Award Recipient

- 2010 DSADC Special Act Award

- 2012 DSADC On-The-Spot Award

- 2011 DSADC On-The-Spot Award

- 2010 DSADC On-The-Spot Award

The Emigsville Band

Volunteer Community Band

John DeFrank

Author and Educator

Irvine Smalls

Author

PHR Baseball Association

Little League

Prayers for Preston

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation