Welcome!

My name is Matthew McManness . I'm a developer who spent seven years as a teacher before switching to computer science. I build software that people can actually understand — and I help the people around it understand it too.

About me

I graduated from the University of Kansas (KU) with a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education in 2014. I spent the next seven years as an elementary and middle school teacher, specializing in social studies. While teaching I earned a Master's Degree in Education from Baker University (4.0 GPA). Outside the classroom I pursued a variety of interests: website creation, woodworking, homesteading, animal rescue, and indie game development.

In 2020 I decided to pursue a career in technology. I re-enrolled at KU for Computer Science and earned a Cyber Security Certificate along the way. During that time I married Mariel Dryton, and shortly before graduating my son Gabriel was born. After earning my CS degree I started working at Computer Store Kansas and founded my own company, Resilient Web Solutions LLC.

I believe technology should serve people, not the other way around. I gravitate toward simple, reliable solutions over complex ones — the right tool for the job, not the newest or most popular. Years of teaching taught me that if you can't explain something clearly, you probably don't understand it well enough yourself. I carry that into every system I build.

Why this site?

I have found over the years that I need somewhere to look back and reflect on what I have completed. This website gives me a reason to actively process my thoughts and synthesize new ideas for future projects. It also gives me a place to display my work for anyone who is interested in learning about what I do.

I have never been a fan of social media. This site is not that. It is a place for me to document and share my work — nothing more, nothing less. Simple and intentional, like the tools I prefer to build with.