I am a 27 year old Yinzer fascinated by computer engineering. Just like many other engineers my age, Legos and K'nex were the first indication that my brain enjoyed the puzzle solving that comes with engineering. As I grew a little older, I was unscrewing radios, TV remotes, and DVD players just to see what was inside. Luckily enough I was able to put them all back together without mom or dad finding out! Now as a student, I am intrigued by embedded systems and wireless communications. Moving on from Legos, I now play with miscellaneous sensors and microcontrollers in my spare time to further educate myself on firmware. I like using Python because it makes development time quick so I can play with more devices with my afternoons, however I hope to dive into more advanced C concepts in order to create more efficent, production level code.
With my other free time, I like to try new things out and learn -- I learn best by doing! I like to try new sports by spending time with friends going golfing or playing hockey. When I am not learning a new sport, I like to learn to program in languages I haven't used in a while (or ever) or read about personal finance and real estate.
Beyond my academics, I have been playing Water Polo year round from 3rd grade all the way until my senior year of college as a D3 student athlete.
Playing a team sport for more than half of my life has brought experiences that I never would have had without Water Polo. I have learned about and experienced long lasting comradery, leadership, and discipline both in and out of the pool. As a captain my senior year at Behrend, I have had the pleasure (and challenge) of leading our team to one of its best seasons in school history. Reaching 3rd in DIII Easterns (placing behind Johns Hopkins and MIT) is something to be proud of being a smaller school. At the MPSF Championships, we beat the newly joined Austin College every matchup we had against them, placing us 5th behind DI Water Polo giants UCLA, USC, Cal, and Stanford.
Now that my final season of Water Polo has past, looking forward I hope to remain active in the West Coast sport's community around Pittsburgh as long as I am local. With the small community of masters players on the east coast, I look to begin a new challenge in athletics; ice hockey. I am a large NHL fan and to try a new sport will keep my body in shape and also expose me to a new community.