My journey into the world of programming began in high school when I was introduced to the concept of Academic Academies. These academies allowed students to choose a specific area of interest for their elective classes. Given my passion for video games and computers, I naturally gravitated towards the STEM Academy. Throughout my high school years, I pursued computer science electives, delving into programming concepts and languages such as Scratch, Python, and Java. While we occasionally explored game development and networking, the focus was primarily on laying the foundations of programming knowledge.
The Complete Web Developer Bootcamp
During my senior year of high school, my schedule didn't allow for computer science electives. Nevertheless, my interest in programming continued to grow. Thanks to YouTube's recommendation algorithm, I stumbled upon Colt Steele's Udemy course, "The Complete Web Developer Bootcamp." Determined to learn, I saved $50 from my job at Red Robin, purchased the course, and completed it over the next several months. This course introduced me to practical web development topics, including HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Node, and building web servers with Express. It ignited my passion for real-world coding.
A High School Project Misadventure
In my senior year, brimming with confidence, I embarked on a project that ultimately proved beyond my grasp. Observing my teachers' somewhat lackluster websites for hosting important class information, I naively believed I could do better. I created a proof-of-concept website using HTML, CSS, and basic JavaScript to display class information. It was an improvement in design but relied heavily on hardcoded HTML. I sent the project and the idea to the school principal and even secured a meeting with the school district's CTO. However, it quickly became apparent that I was in over my head, and the project was not feasible for the entire district.
Summer Before College
The summer before college, I continued my self-learning journey, diving into advanced web development topics like building APIs with Express and crafting complex UIs with React. I built foundational applications like to-do lists and weather apps, which bolstered my confidence for my freshman year as a computer science student at university.
College Ventures
During my time at Missouri State University, I embarked on a journey of personal projects that I'm immensely proud of to this day. One of these projects, named Air Queue, was a platform that allowed Spotify users to create digital "sessions" where others could join and make song requests. The host could oversee all incoming song requests, approving or denying them to add to the active song queue. At the end of the session, the host had the option to create a playlist on their Spotify account containing all the approved songs from the session.
Another project I hold dear is an API I developed to streamline the process of finding COVID-19 vaccination appointments. By utilizing a user's location and a specific date, I employed web scraping techniques to gather data from various clinics, aggregating available appointments into a user-friendly format with scheduling links.
My Work as a Student Web Developer
My time as a student web developer in Missouri State University's Web Strategy & Development department provided opportunities to apply my technical skills. One noteworthy project involved creating a repository for PHD Music students to store their thesis projects, which often included sheet music and audio recordings. I successfully leveraged NextJS and existing infrastructure to establish this convenient storage solution.
Another significant task was transitioning the university's content management system from WebPress CMS to the new Omni CMS platform. With the imminent deprecation of WebPress CMS, there was a pressing need to migrate thousands of custom web components. I took it upon myself to investigate both platforms' APIs and developed a custom script that expedited the migration process, saving the department valuable time and effort.
My Work as an Undergraduate Assistant
In my final semester at college, I had the privilege of assisting a professor in his cyber security research. While I didn't delve into the advanced AI work reserved for graduate students, I engaged in exciting projects during my brief tenure. My responsibilities primarily centered around setting up virtual machines on the university's servers, which served as secure environments for penetration testing and DDoS attacks. Although I didn't witness the hacking in action, gaining insights into the inner workings of a university research team was a fascinating experience.
Internship Hell
Throughout my college years, I diligently pursued software engineering internships across the country, targeting companies of all sizes and prominence, from FAANG giants like Netflix and Amazon to local businesses like O'Reilly and Cerner. I invested significant effort in every application, leading to various outcomes: ghosted applications, online coding challenges, first-round interviews, and even multi-round interviews with technical challenges. While the journey was challenging, it proved to be a period of immense personal and professional growth.
A New Opportunity
Amidst my intensive internship search, my meticulously crafted resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile caught the attention of a recruiter from my current company. This serendipitous encounter led to a technical challenge, interviews with the team, and ultimately a full-time software engineering position offer. It was an unexpected turn of events, especially since I was just a junior in college, planning to work full-time only after completing my bachelor's degree. After careful consideration, I began working part-time during my final semester before embracing this new opportunity wholeheartedly.
My Current Work
My current role has allowed me to work on exciting projects for diverse clients. One of these clients operates a data analytics platform, serving numerous customers with extensive data stored in their warehouses. Our team developed tooling that enabled customers to create data pipelines from various warehouse sources and view reports. Notably, we undertook a full-site redesign, collaborating with multiple developers and designers to complete the project within a single month.
Another client I've had the privilege to work with is a modern school lunch solution provider, serving multiple private schools on the east coast. This company collaborates with numerous schools and restaurants to provide daily school lunches to hundreds, if not thousands, of students. One of my significant contributions was implementing real-time credit card payments into their grab-and-go kiosk POS system, enhancing their services.
My journey in the realm of programming and software engineering has been an ongoing learning experience, filled with challenges and opportunities. I eagerly anticipate what the future holds as I continue to thrive in this dynamic field.
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