Cohort Stories: Meet Edwin
vol. 5, no. 27 — guest post by Edwin Duprevil
Many things have led me to where I am today, but nothing has shaped me more than the challenges I have faced and overcome. My time at UMass Amherst was one of the most challenging times in my life so far. I battled with my mental health, transitioning to a new environment, and managing a heavy course load. After two years, I had wondered if a degree in computer engineering was for me. Nothing had been working for me, but being the person I am, I did not want to give up and I kept trying and trying. Eventually, I had to be honest with myself and figure out what works for me. I decided to transfer to UMass Boston to be closer to home and attend a smaller sized school. Though UMass Boston is only marginally smaller than UMass Amherst, it was the change I needed to succeed. Through my perseverance, I overcame the challenges I had faced at UMass Amherst and reignited my love for learning.
For me to be successful in the tech industry, I want to be able to look at my work and know it is making someone’s life better. In life, I want to be able to help people in any way I possibly can. No matter how big or how small it may be to the person, helping them however possible is a priority for me. Thankfully, my passion for technology will allow me to one day help thousands and hopefully millions of people live better lives. I see two paths for myself to achieve this goal: one being through research and the other being through development.
Through research, I can help a team find solutions to the world’s massive problems. Through development, I will be working directly on the tools people will use to improve daily life in this ever-changing landscape of technology.
With these two directions I could take my career, I see myself becoming successful in my goal of trying to make the world a better place for all.
I am very excited for my time at Hack.Diversity because it supports my career goals in more ways than one. The first, and in my opinion, the most important way Hack.Diversity can support my career goals, is by fostering an environment where I can be myself and grow with a team. The experiences I will have with Hack.Diversity will be my first actual experience outside of a school setting and because of the supportive and accepting environment, I believe I will be able to grow as a person and as a professional. Not only will the environment aid in my transition into my career, but the networking opportunities will catapult me to exactly where I need to be. The relationships I will develop through networking will be invaluable to my professional career. Lastly, Hack.Diversity will allow me to build on connections I would never have access to any other way.
There is no other group in the professional world that I feel has shown to be as strong of a support for minorities in STEM as Hack.Diversity. With all these things I expect my time at Hack.Diversity to be an experience I will never forget.
