Jessica Battles is Ready to Take on a New Professional Challenge; And Hygge’s Flexibility Will Help Her Make That Happen
Written by Meg Seitz · Photography by Julia Fay
Jessica Battles is craving a new challenge.
She’s excited for it, and a bit scared. But if she’s fueled by anything during this transition, it’s this – she’s ready to grow.
An IT professional, Battles came into the technology industry in a unique way.
She attended Howard University for her undergraduate degree, studying art and computer science all with the intention of pursuing a career in animation. Following graduation, she attended Stevens Institute of Technology, a private research university in Hoboken, New Jersey, to further her education.
From there, she headed out to Los Angeles. {Continued below}
“I moved out to L.A. to get into that industry,” she shared. “From there, I found my way to web development and IT.”
She lived in California for a number of years before making the decision to move back East. Originally from Alabama, Battles was moving back towards home; her move to Charlotte brought her closer to family.
Today, Battles has impressive, professional experience having worked in a number of areas within the tech industry – everything from quality assurance to Salesforce development. Most recently, she’s been working in the open-source software sphere – Ruby on Rails, specifically. (As a point of reference: some applications built via Ruby on Rails include [but aren’t limited to] Basecamp, Shopify, Airbnb, Hulu, and Square.) She attended the RailsConf2017 in Phoenix just last month.
She’s excited for it, and a bit scared. But if she’s fueled by anything during this transition, it’s this – she’s ready to grow.
Several months ago, she started a search for a new role. At the same time, she was also seeking a place where she could connect with other working professionals.
“When I was working in my previous role, I was pinging around all kinds of Starbucks,” Battles shared. “So, I did a quick search online for co-working in Charlotte, and I found Hygge. I went to the Remount location, and I liked it immediately.”
Battles is utilizing Hygge and Hygge’s resources and community to help her manage the professional pivot. The aspect of co-working that she’s found most supportive in this time of change? Hygge’s flexibility – both in time and space.
“I love the fact it’s 24/7, and I can pop in and out through the day,” she noted.
She comes and goes to and from Hygge’s Remount Road location around Postmates’ runs; she’s been driving for the on-demand, delivery service for several months now which has helped her position herself to make the next career move.
When she does pop in and out at Remount, she’s tactical about how she uses the various space options.
“I’ve found a nice, quiet nook at Remount,” she said. “I work best in the quiet space, but it’s important to me to branch out and get to know the consistent group of people who are always working and chit chatting in the main space.”
“I feel like I’m on the cusp of something new,” she said with her bright smile.
It’s also inspired her to think differently about what she’s capable of professionally – she’s looking into taking on freelance work. “I talked to Garrett about what’s that’s like to start working freelance or for yourself,” she said. “And I realized quickly that Hygge is a good place to be as a freelancer.”
Whatever challenge Battles is up for next she has support from Hygge. It’s been a space and community that’s allowed her to think bigger and more strategically.
“I feel like I’m on the cusp of something new,” she said with her bright smile.
Meet the Author: Meg Seitz is the Founder and Managing Creative Partner of toth shop, an agency with one goal: Elevate your brand’s content through powerful writing, creativity, and strategy. She also serves as an Adjunct Professor with Queens University and Founding Partner of the children’s book series, “Bea is for Business”.
She’s an English major with an MBA, so she can talk Homer’s “The Odyssey” just as well as she can talk sunk costs – though she’d much prefer the former.
Meet the photographer: Hi, nice to meet you! I’m Julia. I’m my happiest self when my camera is in hand and I’m taking in this big beautiful world around me! People are my jam and the fact that this job brings so many wonderful people into my life is pretty special.
I grew up performing mostly in front of the camera! Singing, acting, comedy improv – anything on a stage or in front of a lens. The roles began to switch as I entered my freshman year of college and found a creative outlet through photography. My first “real” shoot was when an engaged friend of mine asked me to photograph her and her fiancé. Within moments of getting started, I knew that this was it. Telling peoples love stories, that is what I’m supposed to do! I shot my first wedding at nineteen, and well you know what they say..the rest is history! We’ve been together ever since 🙂
