Gear_up.md

Gear Up

• What role does empathy play in your life and how has it helped you?

--Empathy has played an enormous role in how I interact with others and how they interact with me. It is safe to say that without empathy I would not be who I am today. From a young age, my parents practiced empathy with me and helped foster an understanding that I was not alone in my feelings. Empathy has allowed me to make life-long friends, build community, and expand my understanding of the the world.

• How does empathy help you build better software?

--Empathy can put you into a mindset that you dont occupy on a day to day basis, one that may face challenges you have never had to deal with before. For example as a programer you could add a function that allows color blind people to see the page better, or making it so that people with poor vision can zoom in on the photos on the website.

• Why is empathy important for working on a team?

--Empathy can help you understand strengths, weaknesses and problems others have on your team. Maybe someone is strong at multiple things however has too large of a workload because of it or that a team member is struggling with something at home, the rest of the team can help that team member who needs help.

• Describe a situation in which your ability to empathize with a colleague or teammate was helpful.

--in college I had a partner on a project who was an EMT, the night before he had to spend all night saving a homeless mans life who was struck by a car. Unfortunatly the next day was the day we had to present our project, I worked hard that morning to learn his part because he didnt know if he could adequately present his share of the work.

• When do you find it most difficult to be empathetic in professional settings?

--It is hard to empathize when you feel like you have been contributing more than the other person for a considerable amount of time, or whe . you feel they havent been carrying there own weight even when they should have.

• How can you improve your skills when faced with these scenarios?

--I think I could be more patient at times especially when I am tired or stressed out