The Anniversary Spotlight highlights an employee celebrating a significant work anniversary at UPMC every month.
Jinghua Ou works on the MyUPMC team as a Senior Staff Software Engineer at UPMC Enterprises.
Jinghua started her UPMC career in 2007 as a System Analyst at the University of Pittsburgh’s Center of Research on Health Care Data Center (CRHCDC). While there, she helped clinical researchers by developing web applications they could utilize to collect research better.
In 2011, she became an Intermediate Software Engineer at the Technology Development Center (TDC), known today as UPMC Enterprises. Over the years, she has worked on several projects, including Optum, VCC, MyUPMC 1.0, Pathway, CCA, and medCPU.
Fast forward to 2019, Jinghua became a part of the MyUPMC team, primarily focusing on the rewrite of MyUPMC.com. She also implemented mobile updates for the MyUPMC iOS and Android app. Jinghua’s involvement in advancing technology for the healthcare industry didn’t stop there. She recently transitioned to her current role, where her team is creating a more personalized experience for MyUPMC users.
“I’ve learned a lot here at UPMC,” Jinghua said. “Over the past 16 years, I’ve had multiple opportunities with different teams, which come along with different people. I learn from that group of people, and after a while, other opportunities allow me to learn from other groups.”
It might be hard to believe that after all that Jinghua has done with programming, computer science wasn’t Jinghua’s first career choice. Originally from Guangzhou, China, Jinghua graduated from the South China University of Technology with a degree in architecture. When she came to the United States, she attended James Madison University and received her degree in computer science.
When asked if she ever uses her architecture degree, she replied, “Not really, but architecture and computer science are similar to me. One is to make buildings, and one is to make software, but both consider the functionality for people’s needs.”
Architecture and computer science are also entirely different than what she wanted to do when she was younger, which was to be an artist. Although she’s not a full-time artist, she still makes time to pick up the brushes outside of work to enjoy painting in watercolor. Along with painting, Jinghua enjoys gardening – especially growing orchids. She’s a member of the Orchid Society of Western Pennsylvania and became their webmaster, applying the expertise that she exerts professionally in her personal life.
“The people, opportunities, and challenges,” Jinghua explained, is why she chooses to continue to work for UPMC. She expressed that during her career here, her most significant achievement is the confidence she has built.
