Cohort Stories: Meet Oscar V.
vol. 5, no. 70 — guest post by Oscar Vergara
The biggest challenge I have faced was believing in myself. I suffered a great deal of depression early in my career because I was failing in my academic career so badly that I would not be able to proceed any further at the rate I was going as a computer science student. The feeling that no matter what I tried I was simply not smart enough to keep up with my colleagues caused me to fall into a bad personal time in my life. I began drinking to keep my mind off of my failures, I was quickly straying from an academic path, and I thought maybe I just wasn’t born with the intellect it takes to be someone I wanted to be. I suffered quite a bit through this time, to say the least, but by the grace of God I felt I was able to get out.
It was because of my faith in God, that I was able to study harder than I’ve ever studied, understand what I’ve failed to understand before, and excel to the point I am getting the grades I’ve always desired. I now work as a grader for one of the classes that I dropped in the past, and I am now where I’ve always wanted to be.
I believe in myself now, but more importantly I believe in God, because what I’ve accomplished through faith I couldn’t possibly do on my own.I believe things happen for a reason.
Looking back, I think I initially became interested in technology from watching cartoons such as Dexter’s Laboratory, and building a bunch of robots like Dexter did. My dad was pretty supportive of my interests, he would come home from work with VHS tapes he rented from the public library that were educational and taught about the tech industry. I remember that he’d also get me some build-it-yourself robot kits. Once he got me was a little battery powered motorized mouse that would turn left every time you clapped. So I’d say as a kid I was pretty enthusiastic about technology, but eventually I started paying more attention to girls than robotics. Once I got to college, I realized computer science was more aligned with my interest and had more to offer me from what I wanted out of the tech industry. However, it wasn’t easy to reignite my interest in technology. I struggled through my first couple semesters as a computer science student. It was easy to for me to find the field frustratingly hard and my motivation would dwindle. Eventually, after much effort and help from above, I came to understand what was confusing me and I found my interest grow the more I learned. At this point in my career I find my level of interest in technology now very similar to how I felt about it as a little kid.
There are a number of things that motivate me. Primarily Jesus Christ Motivates me. I wouldn’t have been able to get to where I am now without my faith. Secondly, my father motivates me.He’s provided all the support in the world for me. He is the most reliable man alive I know in my life and I’m in awe of him.He’s never made me think he wouldn’t be there for me.I remember being little and always feeling excited to see him come home from work so we could watch old VHS movies till 2 in the morning. He’d usually fall asleep early into the movie, and at the time I didn’t realize what he was going through. He was working part time as a gas station attendant, part time at a Mexican restaurant as a waiter, and getting his PhD while we were on government assistance living in a cramped two-bedroom apartment in Mississippi. My dad is my hero, and I’m blessed to have him as a father. I certainly look up to him and his struggle for family inspires and motivates me. The other thing that motivates me is the late boxer/fighter Muhammad Ali. I’m a huge boxing fan and Ali is my favorite boxer of all time. I’ve read about and watched so much of his career. He is known as a man who constantly did the impossible in the sport of Boxing.These three people motivate me more than anything.
