I know what your first question probably is - what's the deal with my name? When I was born on 6 Av, 5743 / July 15, 1983, my parents decided to name me in Hebrew after relatives who had passed away. Since there is no reasonable English equivalent for Yechiel, they liked the name Jonathan, and it has the same first letter, that became my English name. My middle name, David, works in both languages. As I grew up in a Jewish elementary school, Solomon Schechter School of Queens, where I graduated in 1997, I became known as Jonny. That nickname has stuck through my high school years at Yeshivah of Flatbush, where I graduated in 2001, and my college years at Machon Lev - Jerusalem College of Technology, where I received a Bachelor of Technology and Applied Sciences degree for Computer Science in 2007. When I made aliyah officially in 2006, I took on my Hebrew name instead of my English name. Now Israel knows me as Yechiel, America knows me as Jonathan, and my friends know me as Jonny.
I have been interested in computers for as long as I can remember. I've had a computer since I was 5 years old and enjoyed reading children's magazine articles about QBASIC programming. Towards the end of elementary school and the beginning of high school, I started learning HTML. I spent the summer after my sophomore year of high school taking a course at Columbia University in C programming. In my senior year of high school, I took an advanced placement college class in C++.
I have also always been interested in photography. Since I was very young, I've always taken many pictures on family vacations and events in school. My father inspired me as he was always interested in photography. My hobby grew in high school when I started taking pictures, and writing, for the teens section of a local Jewish newspaper. My high school caught on and invited me to be their official school photographer. I also took a college course in photography at the Fashion Institute of Technology in the summer after my junior year of high school.
I came to Israel after high school to study for a year in the English Speakers' Program at Machon Lev - Jerusalem College of Technology. I excelled in the computer programming classes and enjoyed the school. I took thousands of pictures of everything from trips to events, for myself and for organizations. The love for Israel that I always had developed into a desire to make aliyah.
As I continued through my years at Machon Lev, I found that of all the computer classes I took, web programming spoke to me the most. Therefore I chose to do my final project in it, specifically a website and web application for photo storage, viewing, and editing, thereby combining my 2 loves. I also explored my photography, taking pictures at friends smachot and occasionally getting hired for small jobs and by organizations. Many pictures I have taken have appeared on Arutz Sheva - Israel National News, and some have reached The Jerusalem Post and Ha'aretz. In the summer of 2007, I became one of the official photographers for the Israel Baseball League.
Since early 2007, as I was still putting the final touches on my final project, I started working part time in web programming. I was hired by a start-up web company, Futureye Designs, as their web programmer and still do some work for it. I have also been doing web programming for some organizations, such as WebYeshiva, Torat Yisrael, and Yavneh Olami. Until my wedding, I was also working as an assistant for a professional wedding photographer.
Baruch Hashem, I met my better half, Leah, here in Israel, and we got married on 23 Adar Alef, 5768 / February 28, 2008. I am still working part time jobs in web programming, but am now seeking full time employment, and ideally hope to start a full time job at the beginning of this Elul / September.
