My Tech Story
Hey, I’m Ryyan. I guess my story would begin in a small town in central Georgia called Sparta. My upbringing was unique in the fact that I was raised in a small place, but have had the opportunity to travel the world and experience some amazing things. I was raised by two public school teachers who always stressed education, reaching for your dreams, and loving your culture. My father is an avid tinkerer who loves cars and tractors which is where I believe I get my passion for tech from, while my mother is an avid reader who has become a published writer. As a child I attended elementary school with kids who were much poorer than myself and likely wouldn’t be afforded the opportunities I would. As a result, my first experiences with life and people were humble but taught me lessons I would never forget and couldn’t be learned anywhere else. When I was old enough to go to middle school, an old van took us kids who could afford it to a predominantly white military school about thirty miles up the road so we could receive a better education than the one offered in our town. It had to be a sight every morning seeing a group of black kids in a beat-up van pile out in our uniforms and head to class. However, going through this cultural change would prove invaluable to me in just a few years.
At the end of the eighth grade, my mother told me that our family would be moving to Japan. She and my father had been interviewing for jobs with the Department of Defense to become elementary school teachers on a naval base and had received them. She was elated, and as you can imagine, I wasn’t. So as an upcoming high school freshman I left my world of Friday night football, southern rap, and almost exclusively black and white people to go experience a new culture.
As a high schooler in Japan I had my ups and downs. Dealing with the transition away from all my friends, plus the culture shock, created a rather rebellious teen. My high school was on a military base, so fortunately I was still with American kids but, needless to say, they were much different than the ones I had grown up with. I had always been a good student; however, my grades didn’t reflect it throughout my time in Japan. Despite the rough patch I went through as a young man, living overseas provided an incredible opportunity for me to be exposed to a different culture. I had the opportunity to go to Tokyo, climb Mt. Fuji, and make friends that I still keep in touch with till this day. Probably most importantly, it expanded my idea of what could be accomplished outside of my previous mindset.
In my senior year, my family moved back to Georgia, and I finished my education at the same school I had left three years ago. Unfortunately by then my GPA was in the tank, I hadn’t thought about college much, and I was more concerned with my current girlfriend than my future. My older brother had just gotten out the army after serving two tours in Iraq, and I realized that following in his footsteps was probably the best move for me. My mother protested vehemently about me enlisting. She was already feeling lucky one son had made it home from the war safe, and she didn’t want to risk having to go through that ordeal again. However, I knew that college and I wouldn’t mix well so off I went to join Uncle Sam.
My first duty station was in Camp Casey, South Korea, and I discovered my love for tech, programming, and business there first from a sergeant who was trying to sell tutorials on how to build web sites. I was going through a rough patch in life, and something about coding seemed to make sense when nothing else did at the time. I still reflect on the odds of meeting that sergeant. I’m sure my life would’ve take a completely different path if I hadn’t. From there I began to plan my future as a software engineer and entrepreneur. I served my last two years in the military in New Mexico and Iraq and finally made it home to start life anew.
I always joke that when I came home at 22 I had a Simba (Lion King) moment. I left home a naive, love-struck boy and returned a determined man with something to prove. I enrolled in community college initially and soon transferred to Georgia College and State University. My older brother told me about a program that would allow me to transfer to Georgia Tech, and I jumped on the opportunity as soon as possible. I never dreamed I would attend a school like Tech. When I graduated from high school I had received only rejection letters from the colleges I wanted to attend and, the ones that would accept me requested I take a remedial class for math because of my low SAT scores. Going to Tech was a dream come true.
I wish I could say enrolling at Tech was my riding-off-into-the-sunset moment, but that’s not the way life works. It’s a tough school that demands you to push yourself intellectually and often denies you of the social life that is so crucial to one’s overall health. Unfortunately, in the computer science department there aren’t many people near my age and there is a lack of minorities as well. I’m a 27-year-old rap fan who loves playing pickup basketball, riding in my chevy Monte Carlo with the music loud, and watching football. However, I just happen to be a bit of a nerd. On top of that I’m an army veteran so that comes with an entire culture itself that I inherited. So while Georgia Tech gives me more than enough of an intellectual fill, I have had to actively seek a school/life balance. I spend time with my two brothers and keep in touch with my old army buddies. I also have a good high school friend I text daily, and I go to the local church which allows me to converse with other young adults that are going through a similar phase of life as myself.
In the future, I hope to be a successful software engineer doing meaningful work. After that, I would like to work for an up-and-coming startup or have started my own. Finally, one day I’d love to give back to the town and people that shaped who I am so much. All the kids there deserve every opportunity I had and even more.
Well that’s my story, hopefully it only gets better and longer!
