Ever since I was a kid, I have been enthralled by video games. I was able to relate to people through them when I had trouble doing so otherwise. This love of video games has stuck with me through high school — most of my friends share the same love, in fact. This is why my life goal is to become a successful software engineer and game designer.

Since making this decision, I have taken several steps to gain experience in these areas. Freshman year I joined the newly-formed Game Development Club and the Computer Club. In these extracurriculars, we experimented with the intricacies of creating games and studied the aspects of what makes games fun. Game Development was a group collaboration project whose goal was to make a fully-fledged game every year. Several older students taught us how to program in languages like C# and Javascript and how to use different engines like Unity and Blender. In three years, we made two proper games, and I contributed by creating multiple models in Google Sketchup and Unity. Computer Club is a bit different, since it focuses more on analyzing different games and why we like them, in addition to the hardware side of computers. As a junior, I was elected president of this club after the previous president graduated. Having a leadership position in a place where I could talk about the things I love with others who felt the same way became very important to me — the club even helped me design and build my own gaming computer from scratch.

On the academic side, I have taken two computer science classes that helped further my understanding of software development and hopefully lay the foundation for my college studies. My school offers a one-semester Introduction to Programming class, which focuses on basic software concepts and working in Java; and a full-year AP Computer Science course which covers more advanced topics to prepare students for the AP exam. After taking all of Intro and one semester of AP, I decided that computer science was definitely what I wanted to do. Following that, I started looking at colleges based on their CS programs, to see if they were right for me.

In the summer of 2017, I was offered the unique opportunity to intern at the global headquarters of a major corporation. While I was there, I managed the roles and access levels for all business employees through a program called Global Role Manager. This allowed me to see how the user side of proper software development takes place: creating a user-friendly interface and an easy-to-learn system that can help IT employees improve their effectiveness.

As for my future plans, my first choice school is the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, majoring in Software Engineering. My hope is that one day I can use all I’ve learned in school, clubs and work to create video games. After the hundreds of hours I’ve spent during a lifetime of playing games, I want to give back to the generations of kids and adults that follow. I believe I can succeed in this endeavor by using my experiences and passion for games to propel myself forward and create something really great!