Dear Rachael,

On 25, March 2003, I submitted the online application.  Please
consider this email the rest of my application package.  Thank 
you very much for all your guidance and help.

Sincerely,
Gina Ham

---------------------------------------
APPLICATION:

- Completed and submitted on 25 March 2003.

DOCUMENTATION:

- Please contact the State University of New York at Buffalo
  at (716) 645-2450 to verify that I have obtained a Bachelor
  of Arts degree in English.

- A copy of my driver's license was faxed on 25 March 2003.

RESUMÉ:

- Available at http://www.geocities.com/gishcha/resume.html.

TESTIMONIAL:

Though I may not have been spending my days in an office since
August of 2000, I have in no way been a stranger to the IT
world.  True, one motivation behind my efforts in the meanwhile
was to "stay current," but I have also always been interested
in learning more about computer technologies, a field which I
find extremely fascinating.

One of the key abilities I developed over the past two years
is web programming, an area in which I had not been able to
gain as much knowledge from my held positions.  From the 
straightforward HTML pages I learned to create as a marketing 
coordinator for an engineering firm's then HTML-driven
corporate website, I taught myself how to create complex and
interactive pages with DHTML through CSS and Javascript, Perl,
PHP, and some VBScript.  I have experimented with some of the
other variant mark-up languages and learned XML with XSL.

I have taken on various pro bono projects from acquaintances
and friends, including:

- National Survey on the Use of High Dose Steroids in Acute
  Spinal Cord Injury (a survey currently being conducted by
  Dr. Denise Rhoney of Wayne State University):
  http://www.gingham.net/sci_survey.html

  I found the CGI file online at cgi.resourceindex.com, then 
  modified it extensively for this study.  The results were 
  formatted to be easily analyzed in Excel, as requested.

- Raymond Cha's professional website (my husband's website):
  http://www.gingham.net/pharmd_cha

  Aside from the search function, which I found online when I
  was first creating the website two years ago (though now I
  have gained sufficient Javascript knowledge to be able to
  write my own), the rest of the Javascript was written by me.

- Cover letter generator:
  http://www.gingham.net/people/coverletter.html

  A fairly simple form I created for one friend who requested 
  help writing cover letters.

- Another Avatar MUD Site:
  http://www.gingham.net/gaming/avatar

  Though recreational in nature, creating and upgrading this 
  website provided me with the most comprehensive practice
  field for experimenting with and implementing different 
  methods and techniques.  The game provided a groundwork of
  data which I could work with, creating my own rudimentary 
  scripted databases to simulate behaviors of true databases.

Upon gaining an understanding of the document object model
as used in Javascript and XML, I used this knowledge as a
foundation for developing a basic understanding of object-
oriented languages.  I have been teaching myself Java and
C/C++, which while I know they are intrisically different,
I find much more comprehensible after gaining a thorough
knowledge of Javascript.

Were I more entrepreneurially inclined, I might have tried
my hand at setting up a modest e-commerce venture.  In a
world growing increasingly reliant on the internet to
fulfill its need for goods and services, I found the field
of e-commerce one which merits attention and have been 
staying current on its issues.

Those represent the primary areas in which I've endeavored
to remain up to date in the realm of IT.  I also have four 
years of in-depth experience with databases, which include 
some data modeling, though mostly designing and developing
databases using Visual Foxpro, Clipper, Access, Approach, 
and Paradox, and manipulating them with SQL and VBA as 
well as their own interfaces.  I've worked with data at 
multiple levels, from writing programs to convert raw
data from their initial file formats into database
tables, to programs for updating data and complex querying
routines.  I feel this knowledge is still pertinent and
can be readily applied to any current software or 
querying language versions.

Early on, I discovered I had an innate proclivity toward
computers.  Computers afforded me an ideal tool and toy,
one around which I could form questions such as "can 
it/I...?" and "what if...?" then proceed to either develop
a logical system toward finding solutions or experiment
through trial and error, but either way, almost always push
the boundaries of what I had been able to do until then.

I believe I am well suited for this program not only because 
of such a longheld mindset and my ability to embrace and 
comprehend new technologies, but also due to another
tangential reason: my ease with learning languages and 
applying them to optimal effect.  This aptitude is 
demonstrated by my history of having won awards in 
creative writing and language studies.  I have observed 
that English majors frequently transition smoothly into the
computer field, and I think this is because the logic
literature students hone in learning to formulate and put
together a cohesive argument leading up to a clear and
cogent conclusion in an essay is very similar to the sort
of thinking required in order to work effectively with
computers.

Thank you for taking the time to read my testimonial and
for your consideration.

---------------------------------------
Gina S. Ham
(734) 451-7430
gishcha@yahoo.com