Cohort Stories: Meet William
vol. 5, no. 90 — guest post by William Tejeda
What I’m most proud of about my identity/background is all the different challenges I had to overcome throughout my academic career. There’s a famous quote that goes by, “A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.” I always carry this quote in the back of my mind whenever things get rough, for multiple reasons. One of them is the state of mind the quote puts me in, whenever I’m faced with a challenge. Instead of putting you in a state of backing down, letting the sea take over, and possibly ruining your ship. The quote instead makes the challenging sea seem as if it’s an accolade, which I completely agree with 1000%. As you go on with your life and continue to face these challenges head-on, don’t think that these challenges are breaking you down as a person, but instead making you a better person overall. The same way a muscle has to go through endurance and be broken down to grow is the same way a sailor has to go through rough times to be a talented sailor.
One of the earliest memories I have of my childhood was constantly being directly in front of a television with a gaming controller in my hand. My first interest in technology started with the Sega Genesis and continued onto many gaming consoles after that. My passion for technology began after watching my older cousin playing video games, but this time he was playing on his computer. After always only seeing computers being used for web browsing, I stood there frozen, wondering how this desktop can be allowed to play this game. All my life I thought games were strictly for gaming consoles. Then my cousin explained to me how amazing computers are, and how powerful they can be when it comes to the world of video games. Learning about all these great new aspects of a computer, inspired me to one day get my hands on a desktop myself. In the summer of 2015, I began working my first internship at State Street, I saved up for a desktop computer. I was able to completely build my gaming computer while further developing my knowledge and passion for technology.
My main motivator is the support of my family members. My parents came to the U.S. before I was born and have faced challenges since the very beginning. Growing up as a kid, we often believe that the world is ours, and we can have whatever we want. While that may be a reality for some, for most minorities that usually isn’t the case. Thankfully, during all those hard times, I’ve always had my family offering the best advice that has fueled me throughout my life and into my career. My family has taught me many lessons such as, what I should truly value in life, to always believe in myself, and to never give up under any circumstances.
Whenever I need extra motivation while working on an assignment, test, or exam, I immediately start to think about all the effort my family has poured into me. They’re the reason why I’m in the position I’m currently in as well as the reason I’ll continue to do great.
