Hitchhiker Spotlight: Austin DaCunha

How long have you been on the Hitchhikers team?

I've been with the Hitchhiker Team for almost 6 months.

What projects have you worked on since joining the Hitchhikers team?

Since joining the team I've worked on 30 Answers launches in addition to writing content for the Hitchhiker launch! Some of the most notable launches I've worked on include Adelphi University, Akron Children's Hospital, CrossCountry Mortgage, Johns Hopkins University and Rothman Orthopedics.

What is your proudest accomplishment since joining the Hitchhikers team?

My proudest accomplishment since joining the team has been learning how to code. Prior to this role I had no experience with coding whatsoever. I remember sitting in Madison Square with Amani and Sam talking about a potential rotation with the Hitchhiker team. They opened up a couple files and were basically like "yeah you're going to learn how to write all of this!" I remember nodding my head with a smile on my face, thinking "what am I getting myself into?" I'm really proud of how I've been able to learn the basics of HTML, CSS, JS, JSON, etc. and quickly apply those skills to real client work.

How has becoming an administrator/Hitchhiker affected your career?

This is the first time in my career that I've had the opportunity to work on a brand new product with as much momentum and support behind it as Answers. I was also extremely fortunate to be given the opportunity to work on some of the first Higher Education Answers experiences in my time as a Hitchhiker. It's been a fulfilling experience to leave my mark on a vertical that had previously been untouched by Yext prior to the launch of Answers.

What is one thing people might not know about being an administrator?

You don't need a background in coding! I didn't know what HTML or CSS were before I started with the Hitchhiker team. You'll learn all about the various coding languages that you'll come across as a Hitchhiker in the training modules!

What is the toughest challenge you have had to overcome on a project?

One of the hardest things I've experienced thus far was the design of the CrossCountry Mortgage site. This was the deepest I had ever gone into CSS, writing ~250 lines of code for the design of the experience. While this was a very painful process at times, it was extremely rewarding to see my development from a technical perspective in my time as a Hitchhiker. Check it out here https://crosscountrymortgage.com/

CrossCountry Mortgage