Welcome Morten!

Get to know the newest member of Umbraco HQ

Written by Morten Hartvig Larsen

In February, the fantastic Umbraco Support team had the pleasure of welcoming two new members. You get to know one of them today: Morten Hartvig Larsen. And let’s just get this over with right away - no, he’s not related to Niels Hartvig 😉 But it almost seems like faith, right? We sure think it is, and once you hear about his passion for web-development, his geeky/impressive Excel skills and football knowledge, you’ll also see why we think he’s the perfect Umbraco HQ fit:

Hi! I’m Morten - the newest magician in Umbraco’s SWAT team (Support Warriors and Troubleshooters). 😎

I’m currently in the middle of my three month internship at Umbraco (but you know - if all goes well, I’m planning to stick around a bit longer 😉 ). In my daily life I’m a Web Development student at Erhvervsakademiet Lillebælt in Odense, where I’ve also studied Multimedia Design.

I’ve been working with web development the last few years. Most of my work has been with content management systems like WordPress or October. Therefore it’s been quite a (good) challenge having to switch from a Unix based environment to .NET, which is what Umbraco is built on.

I didn’t know much about Umbraco before I started, to be frank. The only thing I was actually certain about was that Umbraco was an open-source CMS. With the help of the people at my new "home-away-from-home" I’ve come to realise that Umbraco isn’t just a CMS - it’s a community.

The friendly community is what, in my mind, separates Umbraco from the other content management systems I’ve worked with.

I’m usually not one to brag (well, sometimes I do, actually), but I’ve already got several pull requests merged into Umbraco’s documentation 😄

whoami

I’m 24 years of age (single, but no Tinder profile 😉) and I’m located in Odense where I’ve lived pretty much my entire life (21 years).

As a bit of a surprise perhaps, I wasn’t always into IT. Actually, as a kid, I was a huge sports freak. I’ve played football (or soccer, for you Americans 😄), handball and badminton. While I haven’t played a sport for quite a few years now, I still regularly exercise (mostly movement, strength and functional training, since I’d like to keep my flexibility and mobility so I don’t move around like a robot).

Football is still something I spend a lot of my time on. Actually, I love anything that can get me outside and have a good time. Even something as simple as a long walk or a run.

Apart from a healthy lifestyle I’m also a huge fan of books (primarily non-fiction), music, movies (I currently have 338 which are neatly organised in an Excel sheet), and, of course, web development!

Oh.. I better mention that movies aren’t the only thing I collect! I’m also a soccer (yup, you read it right) for football scarves and authentic shirts. Feel free to have a look here if you’re interested.

My purpose

The other day I was asked to describe my purpose at Umbraco (bare in mind I’ve only been here 3 weeks 😅).. After some thought I answered “to give people a fantastic, unforgettable experience with Umbraco”. This is exactly what I aim to do for the rest of my internship as a proud and friendly Umbraco support warrior (and of course in the future as well provided they want to keep me 😉).

See you in the support chat! 😉

P.S. I’ve (of course!) joined the Umbraco HQ’s football team; Umbraco Unicorns.

Welcome Nicolai!

Hi everyone, my name is Nicolai Oksen and I’m a senior developer at Umbraco HQ (or as I like to refer to myself: Keyboard smasher and code creator… it just adds some more spice to it, right? 😉 )

I have been programming for the majority of my life (since age 10…) and I absolutely love it.

I’ve been working professionally as a software developer since I was 18, maintaining several different positions along the way. For the past 3 years I’ve spent my time working with EPiServer and Sitecore as a consultant (I’ve actually never touched Umbraco before starting at HQ 😯).

During my work as a consultant I discovered that I had a desire to work on a product and be a dedicated member of a team. Umbraco fits the bill and holds a solid reputation for giving their employees the possibilities to improve their skill-set.

So lucky me, 2018 started with a new job at Umbraco HQ, but actually I had the pleasure of having my first meeting with all the HQ Umbracians at their Christmas Party - almost a month before I officially had my first day. I was greeted by smiles and humor. What a welcome - I felt that I was part of Umbraco already! 😄

I have a passion for doing clean code and I’m here to help improve the Umbraco CMS and Umbraco Cloud by introducing new features and polishing existing ones!

Who’s this Nicolai… 🤔

I am 27 years old, I was born and raised in a small town in Sønderjylland (the very south of Jutland - very rural) but now live in Odense. I’ve spent most of my childhood toying with computers and hardware and during my younger years I had few other hobbies (did anyone say nerd? 🤓).

My professional career started at Bang & Olufsen where I worked as a Data Technician apprentice for 2 years. My boss at the time, Søren, encouraged me to move on to get an engineering degree (and for that I’m eternally grateful, because without the advice I would not be here today! 😊).

But it’s not all about being a tech-nerd.

When I moved to Odense I started lifting weights at a gym. I found that it helps me focus and deliver greater results in my work and especially after a long and stressful day at a desk, going to the gym and throwing metal around is good therapy! I recently broke my personal record in leg press, moving 320 kg for 5 reps (I’m quite proud! 💪)

Nikolais two cats sleeping

Besides all of the above, I also have a lovely girlfriend whom I try to spend my time with outside work and training and two awesome cats! Above you see the cats cuddling, a rare occasion 😊

That’s it.

You’ll be able to find me at Umbraco HQ where my days will be focused on code, making the world awesome and drinking loads of coffee! 😉

...BTW did I mention that I own a 160cm tall wooden Robot Unicorn? Who said anything about a match made in heaven…

Nikolais art a 3D unicorn

👋 See you around!