Rositsa Deyanova

The atmosphere at Melon is much more understanding, more supportive, warmer, and friendlier than what I encountered before.

Currently a Junior .Net Developer, Rositsa Deyanova joined Melon in 2020 as a .NET Intern. Her journey with software development began in high school while studying Math and Computer Science in her hometown Pazardzhik. “I studied German before, but German was not for me,” she laughs. When Rositsa's father saw a SoftUni advertisement for a free programming course, he suggested that she gave it a try because it might turn out to be her thing. Following her dream, after Rositsa graduated from high school, she began studying Information Systems at the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski". She applied for an internship at Melon during her second academic year. 

She found out about Melon from a friend who also works at the company. “He told me how cool the environment at Melon is and how friendly the people are,” Rositsa says. There were no job postings for such a position at the time, but she got invited to an interview and was happy about the opportunity. 

When asked what has changed at Melon since she started working at the company, Rositsa says: “My team is still as cool and as fun, as it was in the beginning. Nothing has changed”. She used to go to the office regularly, so that is one thing that is now different for her after the pandemic hit. However, Rositsa and her team continue to communicate regularly online. “We don't always discuss work. Some colleagues send us images when they go fishing or when they travel. At the very least once a month, we attempt to hang out together at the office. We have lunch and catch up," she says.

Rositsa thinks that she has changed in the two years she has been with Melon. She feels more confident and speaks up. She loves that now, she can also help her teammates. “Not a while ago, a new intern joined the team and I felt good that I could answer his questions. I can contribute to the work environment," she says. 

The first project Rositsa worked as an intern was Melon's Birthday App. It stores dates and sends reminders so that we all remember to congratulate team members. People punch in their interests and hobbies so the rest can come up with a nice, tailored surprise for them. Or for the more practical ones, they can enter exactly they would like to get and skip surprises. This app took Rositsa seven weeks to develop and she is proud that it contributes to the Melon community across our offices in Sofia, Veliko Tarnovo, Skopje and Pristina.

Rositsa's most difficult project to date was the last one she completed for Kin + Carta. In May, 2022, Melon became part of Kin+Carta, a dynamic global consultancy, leveraging over 2,000 highly specialized technologists, strategists and creatives across 4 continents.

It took her two months to finish it, she didn't have much time and the technology was unfamiliar to her. Her task was to transfer a calculator to a website that provided mortgage guidance. She had to upgrade the calculator from.NET 2.0 to.NET 4.5.

Her fellow software developers were answering any questions she had when she began working on the new projects with Kin + Carta. “Because everything is new to me, it felt as if  I was an intern again. It will take some time for me to feel confident again,” Rositsa says. 

She shares that she loves the environment at Melon. “It is my kind of workplace,” she says. “Compared to another company I worked at before, the atmosphere at Melon is much more understanding, more supportive, warmer, and friendlier than what I encountered there. When I tell people about Melon, they are impressed how I always find help and how many team-building activities we have,” Rositsa says. She is pleased and surprised that the management gives a lot of attention to mental health and organizes numerous presentations and workshops in addition to the five free consultations with psychologists each year.

At Melon, she not only has improved her software development skills but also learned to be more confident and got better at public speaking and problem-solving. Her working experience met her with many challenges and new technologies which she had to concur in different ways. Rositsa is excited to work on many interesting new projects and get acquainted with new technologies. She is proud that she can easily adapt and whatever comes up, she manages it. 

Rositsa’s advice to the new people joining Melon is to not be afraid to ask questions because any of their colleagues will help, and if they can't, they will refer to someone who can. "When I was an intern, I had a lot of questions, and my teammates would stop what they were doing to answer them. Everyone has been incredibly helpful,” she says.

Rositsa has a huge collection of board games and she loves to play with friends. She occasionally volunteers at a dog shelter and tries to find a balance between work and personal life. When she has more time, Rositsa goes to the gym.