About Me

Hello, I’m Astrid – a mature medical student, software engineer, and pharmacist.
Before starting my career in software development, I studied pharmacy and worked in both hospital pharmacy and pharmaceutical research. During my time in research, I developed a strong interest in computing, taught myself to code (starting with Python and JavaScript), and transitioned into a full-time software engineering role a year later.

Over the years, I’ve worked across finance, education, and healthcare technology. While I enjoyed the challenges of software engineering, I realised how much I missed working directly in healthcare and decided to pursue a long-standing dream: studying medicine. Since September 2023, I’ve been a full-time graduate-entry medical student at the University of St Andrews.

I’m committed to lifelong learning and love teaching. I regularly support fellow medical students by explaining complex topics, creating interactive quizzes, presentations, and clinical case studies. Previously, I’ve led hands-on workshops using Raspberry Pis to teach coding to beginners (see my website: https://aronja.github.io) and have presented at national and international conferences, including this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=Zv_VRtZR3TodfAzd&v=hQkBrkMIhhc&feature=youtu.be

I’ve also mentored aspiring developers through organisations like Codebar and Code Your Future, offering support in Python, Java, and JavaScript.

I’d love the opportunity to help others unlock their potential by tutoring in a wide range of subjects, including:

Sciences & Healthcare: Interview Prep, and Entrance Exams, Chemistry, Medicine, Clinical Skills and Pharmacology

Languages: Native German

Technology: Programming in Python, Java, JavaScript, and Shell Scripting

My teaching style

I want to help you reach your full potential by making learning engaging, accessible, and confidence-building. My approach is student-focused and responsive, I adapt to your needs, pace, and preferred learning style to help you succeed.

I believe in teaching through examples, white-boarding, interactive discussions, and quizzes to reinforce understanding. My goal isn’t just to help you memorise facts, but to equip you with the tools to understand and apply concepts independently. I want you to feel empowered, curious, and confident in your learning journey.

Over the years, I’ve taught children, adults, aspiring software developers, and professional engineers — both in my professional roles and at events like PyCon and XConf, as well as through volunteering. My experience spans coding fundamentals, software engineering practices, and technical mentoring.

Since September 2023, I’ve been a full-time graduate-entry medical student at the University of St Andrews. I’m committed to life-long learning and, for that reason, also love to teach. I regularly support my fellow students by explaining complex medical topics and creating quizzes, presentations, and clinical cases.

My past experience

I volunteered at Code your Future a coding school for refugees for about one year, I also mentored aspiring software engineers at Codebar on a weekly basis. Additionally, I have been mentoring and teaching “junior” software engineers as part of my job at Current Health and before that at ThoughtWorks.

My Proudest Achievements

I graduated with distinction from my degree in pharmacy.

I landed a Marie Curie PhD Research Associate job.

I taught myself how to code and from not knowing what a computer terminal was in mid 2016, I turned into a full stack graduate entry software engineer at ThoughtWorks in early 2018.

I spoke at two international conferences (XConf and PyCon).

I managed to inspire countless of people during my Raspberry Pi workshops.

I was accepted to study graduate entry medicine at all universities I applied: ScotGEM (st Andrews), Nottingham and Swansea.

I won the award for best audit during my first year of medical school and was invited to speak at the BMJ’s
International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare in Utrecht.

I managed to achieve Dean’s least in my graduate entry medicine degree twice in a row, while working part-time (20h/week) as a Software Engineer.

I teach

Python
Biology
Chemistry
German
Pharmacology
JavaScript
Human Biology
Medicine Interview
GAMSAT
Medicine
Graduate Entry Medicine (GEM)
Pharmacy
Med Personal Statement
Coding

My Results and Achievements

Mpharm from University of Vienna with distinction
GAMSAT 2023 with 64 points
Medicine (ScotGEM) year 1 and 2 with 81% and 83%
Best student 2025
Software Engineer with 7 years of experience
Graduate Entry Medicine offer from ScotGEM
Graduate Entry Medicine offer from Swansea
Graduate Entry Medicine offer from Nottingham
High school diploma from Austria
native German speaker