Cohort Stories: Meet Braulio
vol. 3, no. 25 — guest post by Braulio Duarte
I have always been interested in technology. When I was a kid I use to take everything apart: toys, radios, appliances, anything I could get open. I wanted to see what was the magic inside of it. I remember being disappointed because I couldn’t understand how the circuits and electrical components worked, and also because I could never put anything back together. As I grew older I maintained this curiosity and love for technology. Growing up I played a lot of video games, and naturally became curious as to how they were made. I found a tutorial for a free game engine on the internet, and started to follow along. In this tutorial I was introduced for the first time to programming, and I immediately fell in love. I was working construction at the time but I would come home and do coding tutorials at nights and on the weekends. I knew then that I wanted to be a programmer, and in 2015 I enrolled in Bunker Hill Community College as a computer science major with a transfer option. In 2017 I transferred to the University of Massachusetts Lowell and in 2020 I will have my Bachelor’s of Science in Computer Science.
I still take things apart, except now I understand the circuits and I can put them back together. I still love video games, except now I spend a lot more time making them than playing them.
What motivates me is my desire to be successful, and the knowledge that success only comes to those who work hard and sacrifice. When I am working hard and I want to quit I remember that this is what is required for success, and I must work hard and sacrifice. I believe you have to dream big and you have to try to become the best in what you do. I want to make the world a better place.
I believe with technology we can fix a lot of the world’s problems. I want to do my part and right now that means learning as much as I can to become the best programmer I can be.
I’m really excited about Hack.Diversity, I think I am in good hands and I feel like they really care about their members, and I know this will be a very valuable experience. I’m looking forward to meeting other developers. I’m also really excited about the workshops and the mentorship program. Most of all I am excited about the internship opportunities. Internships are difficult to acquire but they are very beneficial. I believe in the mission of Hack.Diversity, and I am very thankful for what they do. I will take full advantage of this opportunity, and I hope one day to contribute in this mission and give back to this organization.
