About Me

(in about 682 words)

Intro

I am a recent graduate of the University of Kentucky, College of Engineering. I originally was going to do mission work after college, but I changed my plans during my senior year. (There were a lot of reasons for this, but if you are interested, please message me.) With the recent change of plans, my time and focus went into increasing my knowledge of software. I put a lot of effort into making sure I was career-ready for the IT industry, and thankfully all that time and focus paid off.

What I'm currently learning

At Papa Johns International, I've been able to have an amazing first experience out of college. Some of the tech that I've been diving into most: Spring Boot, Gradle, Jenkins, Google Cloud, and a lot of other major corporate tech that I never got to experience in college. So far, it's been a great experience, and a lot of my co-workers and the higher-up engineers have been quite impressed with how quickly I have been able to catch on and contribute at the same level as them. Overall, I'm super eager to keep diving into new systems, repos, and tech.

Some history in tech

  • Before getting my first computer, I would get on my parents' Dell PC - running Windows XP - primarily to play games. Haven't touched an older computer since (besides my grandma's Dell running Windows Vista)

  • When I was 8 I got my first computer, a Macbook (original - 2006). I didn't quite use it to the best of its ability, but as a 10-year-old with a Macbook, I was able to get the hang of Mac OS (X Leopard to be precise)

  • Finally gained a good understanding of a computer's true use when I was 13. Learning Excel in computer class was the breakpoint for me when it came to finding an interest in how technology shapes our lives and even vice-versa.

  • Up until my senior year of high school, I was quite focused on other work away from learning about technology, but I had a continued love of how it worked in every part of our lives. I wanted to learn how I could make a difference in others' lives by the way I can shape the use of software.

  • When I was 17 I took my first coding class, never knew that learning Java would still be my primary focus even after college, but that class gave me a huge advantage when I started to take Computer Science(CS) courses.

  • From 18 to 22, earned my CS degree at the University of Kentucky and also learned of my passion for coffee. During this time, I made my first website in HTML/CSS/Javascript for a ministry I was involved with, UKPray.

  • Age 21, completed my capstone project for Papa Johns International. I made a driver delivery app that inspired a modern-day application and was offered to work with them as a contractor.

  • From 22 to Present, learned many different cloud-centric software and tools. I have worked on a home server to practice my networking and security skills. I had hopes of getting a website running from it, but I couldn't afford the time commitment or cost of essential security hardware/software. I also started a fake e-commerce website to show off some programming skills.

I like

Travel / Geography

  • I am originally from Louisville, Kentucky. I have since lived in Lexington and Dallas.
  • I've been to Italy and Turkey; both of which I would like to revisit
  • Loved getting to see the Seven Churches listed in Revelation 2-3 in Turkey and all the Church history in Rome.

Fun facts

  • I am currently playing Lego Star Wars and Farcry 6.
  • I have way too many hobbies that I am trying to learn including piano, chess, Arduino
  • I am always reading more books than I should at one time.
  • I am currently projecting boulders graded v7-v8 at my gym.