As a person who loves meritocratic work and understanding the world from an objective functional stand point, engineering work was and always will be my career choice. A love of problem solving is pervasive in all aspects of my life; I love puzzles, interesting algorithms, musical analysis, and real life functional applications. At Rutgers University, I chose Mechanical Engineering as my major for the facetious reason that I would be most exposed to this type of work, as it had the most fundamental math and physics work. I succeeded in my time at school; I graduated as Valedictorian while graduating a year early because of my honest enjoyment of the work. In my personal experience however, the core tenets of problem solving in the mechanical engineering industry were not as prevalent as in the concepts I learned in school.

Family and friends recommended I try programming because of my discontent with my mechanical work and my previous career aspects. Upon learning basic concepts and interesting applications of computer science, the world of programming became very attractive. With programming, I can approach practical problems in my life and find powerful computational solutions. I can express creativity through a very structured and rational approach. I can combine my passion for my hobbies and my work. All while promising a growing industry.

But where to start?

After starting over and over again, I found Holberton. I agree with Holbertons philosophy of progressive education, its curriculum, and holistic nature. I identified with many excerpts that Sylvain Kalache wrote about the school. I want the intensive work load of a boot camp, but with a deeper view of what it means to be a software developer. And I want to learn with others by doing, not just by listening. The program even touches base on topics I plan to learn. I have not found another program that teaches C and touches computer architecture.

I can study concepts on my own, but I thrive in a structured peer-filled environment and its how I did well in school. I can do all of this at Holberton. If I can build projects with peers, learning these concepts, and enjoy my time, I am hitting many birds with one stone.

I know I can be very successful in the right environment with the right tools. Holberton provides that uniquely because we share the most common methods and most common goals. I want to be a complete software engineer, and starting on the right foot means starting with Holberton.