The Artist Behind the Computer
Hack4Impact UIUC Member Spotlight
“I aim to create an environment where students are molded into the best versions of themselves, unstoppable teams are developed, and life changing products are built.”
This was the big vision one of our previous Co-Directors (David Chang) set out for our UIUC chapter back in Fall 2018 as we rolled into our third semester.
One semester later, his vision still sticks in the back of my mind today. What does it mean to be the best version of yourself? How are our current leaders in our chapter shaping the team experience?
My curiosity to these questions inspired me to sit down with one of our Product Managers, Josh Burke, and unravel his story.
Josh Burke is currently a junior at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Product Manager at Hack4Impact UIUC.
Q: How did you get into CS?
“I started coding in middle school. We had a computers class and our computer teacher was really good. She taught us basic programming ideas using simple learning languages.
I really took it and ran with it.
I got really into Computer Club. A lot of the ways we learned to code in the first place is through making games. I loved playing video and computer games. Being able to make them was really fun. If it was just computer algorithms and programs, I don’t think I would’ve been that interested but because it was games, it was more fun.”
Q: Now that you’re studying it formally at UIUC, has that changed how you feel about CS at all?
“It did. It’s been a long path for me to really settled in this major and feel comfortable in this career. It’s taken me some time to think about what I want to do with this degree. Part of what helped was being part of Hack4Impact. It’s really set my sights in the right direction. Another part of it was internships and being in the real world and doing real applications. I wouldn’t say I’ve always been super happy about my major. At this point, I’m pretty happy with it.”
Q: Can you talk about some of the challenges you’ve encountered in the past three years?
“I think the biggest one is mental health. I don’t like to keep that subject under wraps.
I think the more people talk about mental health, the less stigmatized it gets.
I struggled a lot with my mental health freshman and sophomore year. I went through a bunch of different medications and therapists. At this point, I feel much more on top of it and that’s made it a lot easier. Learning how to cope with things that happen in your life and feeling okay with yourself. Learning how to direct my own brain has been one of the biggest challenges I have had to overcome.”
Q: You used the word ‘direct’, what do you mean by that?
“Direct as in manage my thoughts and perspective. I think it’s easy to get set into mindsets that aren’t as productive. There were times when I would get angry at the world or feel sorry for myself.
Art is one of the best ways that I cope. Music especially. Making music is one way I really learned to appreciate things and be easier on myself. Music is a very personal process. You’re putting your feelings into sound. Sometimes it doesn’t go quite the way you want it to and sometimes your direction as an artist is not quite the way you want it to be going.
It takes a lot of being okay with the things you’re doing to put that music out into the world and be proud of it.
I think that’s something that has given me a lot of peace and a lot more confidence in who I am.”
Q: What kind of process do you go through while creating music?
“I’ve gone through a bunch of different processes. In the very beginning, I would just make music that sounded cool. It was very surface level. Then I started making soundtracks, I made soundtracks for games that existed. After, I’d make music for games that didn’t exist that I had a concept for. I would try to write music that matched an experience. At this point, I do more writing based on matching music to my own experiences. I find that a lot more satisfying because it feels more like me.”
Q: You described music as an ‘experience’. Are there any artists out there that gives you an ‘experience’?
“Definitely. There’s a lot of them. Probably the biggest musical influence for music that puts me in a different place is Animal Collective. They’re an experimental electronic group. They use a lot of synthesizers and layer a bunch of vocal tracks. Sometimes it’s really melodic. Sometimes it’s fun. Sometimes its rhythmic. It varies a ton but the common themes are the same. It’s very organic and very raw. You can tell somebody put themselves into the music. Thats what I really like about them. Sufjan Stevens is another artist who writes really honest lyrics and really beautiful melodies. His music is really easy to empathize with.”
Q: How does it feel to perform in front of people?
“Performing music in front of people, especially if you’re singing, is one of the best feelings I’ve ever experienced. You bring a certain amount of energy to the stage. Based on your performance, the audience will feel that too and reflect that back to you. They reflect this energy and you can feed off the crowd. You’re moving them in a way. It’s an interaction of pure feeling. It’s a kind of human interaction that’s not common at all but is really special when it works right.”
Q: How do you deal with ambiguity in life?
“I use to need to know exactly what’s going on. I find that being able to deal with ambiguity — being comfortable with any outcome — is really important to being calm and being happy. If you’re worried about a bunch of different things happening, it’s hard to be at peace. As I’ve gotten older, I notice that things that happen matter less in the grand scheme of things. If one thing doesn’t go my way, it’s okay because that’s just one thing.
If something doesn’t go quite my way, I used to think that people would like me less or care about me less. As I’ve built more relationships, I’ve realized that if someone really cares about you, they’ll care about you no matter what happens. No matter what’s going on in your life. That brings me a lot of peace. I’m still here. I’m still the same person. I still have people who care about me.”
Q: How has your transition been from Software Developer to Product Manager at Hack4Impact?
“It feels like the difference between being part of an organization and being the organization. When you’re a software dev, you come to the team. You have something to run with.
As a PM, you’re essentially creating something from nothing. You’re defining the boundaries of what your team is. The way you interact with people, the way you talk about the project you’re doing — all of that stuff matters.
It’s a lot of empathizing too, more so than when I was as a software dev. Empathizing with the client, empathizing with your team members. I found myself thinking a lot about my previous semester here, what I loved about my team and the organization. I try and think, Are they having a parallel experience to what I had? That’s what I’m trying to create.
I think what would make me really happy is if my team enjoys tackling the problem that we’re solving. GlobalGiving is a really open-ended problem to solve. There’s not really a clear definition. Our client has said, ‘This is a problem that we have. We’re not looking for any particular way to solve it. We want you to get creative with it.’
There’s a lot of room to get creative. What I’m really trying to accomplish is for my team to see it the same way so that they can solve it creatively. For it to be their solution and their work and they can take pride in it. I don’t just want to be a steam engine pulling the project along. I would rather help everybody in contributing to push it along. The more they feel connected with their teammates, the easier for them to feel ownership over the collective project.”
Q: What would you pursue after graduation that you’re not doing now?
“Something I’ve been thinking about for awhile is starting a career as a musician as a hobby. Performing. That was something I did a little bit high school and freshman year. After graduation, I want to cultivate an artist persona. A name, an image, a brand. Have some sort of performance style that’s unique.”
