I spent most of my early years through high school in sports, specifically football. On the field I learned many lessons about leadership, team work, and work ethic. This made my abrupt jump into computer science during high school much easier. I still stuggled though, and had it not been for an amazing computer science teacher and mentor, I don't know if I would have continued my education in this field.
After graduating high school I spent the first two years of my education at Austin Community College. It is here where I really learned how to apply myself in the classroom. I took classes that challenged me to learn quickly and participated in extracurriculars that challenged me as a leader. After finishing my pre-requisites I transferred to Texas State University where I would finish my undergraduate education. Using the lessons learned at Austin Community College I immediately made an impact on campus taking leadership positions in extracurriculars, contributing to research on the cutting edge of machine learning and microbiology, and helping the Computer Science Department grow by creating opportunities for them to connect to the students, as well as increase the presence of employers on campus.
After many years of extracurricular clubs, projects, and a job with the Texas State Computer Science Network Infrastructure Team, I got my first professional opportunity via a 9 week internship at Charles Scwhab. As a Software Development and Engineering Intern, I did my absolute best to have as large of an impact as possible during my internship. I delivered on multiple projects, satisfying deliverables within my role and outside of it. I also put an emphasis on meeting with as many Schwabbies as possible. Learning from entry level workers as well as department leads to gain insights into what a successful career might look like for myself. Overall it was an amazing experience that I learned so much from, and I am extremely excited that I wil be starting my career at Schwab now that I am graduated.