What major are you studying at Blue Ridge CTC?

Software Development Engineering

 

Why did you select your program?

I have always had a fascination with computers since I was first introduced to them in school. I was amazed by the things you could do with them and quickly fell in love with messing around with them. I was unsure what to do with my future, but after talking with family and friends, I was encouraged to give college a try; since I had self-studied programming, earning a Programming with Python certificate from Harvard’s online certificate program, I figured it would be fun to give Software Development a chance.

 

Explain one thing you enjoyed about your time at Blue Ridge CTC.

I really enjoy the entire community surrounding Blue Ridge CTC. I have always found it relatively hard to fit in or find people that I really connect with, but since my first day of college, I have been making friends and meeting many people who share my interests, including the instructors here. It is really a place where I feel welcome and able to grow with all the support from everyone.

 

What are your current goals after you graduate, and how has Blue Ridge assisted you toward those goals?

In recent years, I have been deeply fascinated by machine learning algorithms and artificial intelligence. I would have never expected to develop these kinds of algorithms, especially for something I would truly enjoy. But with that said, after joining the SPACE Team at Blue Ridge, I have been leading the software development for an instrument that will be sent into space! This very project will use a model created using reinforced learning, a form of machine learning, to help us parse and understand all the data we collect. With the knowledge I am learning here, I hope to pursue higher education on this very topic.

 

What advice would you offer to current and future students? 

My advice for any student, current or in the future, would be not to be afraid to talk to people and ask for help. When first starting here, I joined a project that was making a virtual reality tour of the Technology Center. During the couple of months I helped with this project, I went around taking pictures and measurements of various objects and rooms. While I did this, I got to meet a lot of the faculty and other students outside of my major that I was able to talk to, and eventually led to meeting Alberto Torres, a current instructor, who introduced me to the SPACE Team. What I’m trying to get at is that none of what I am doing today would be possible if I didn’t step outside my comfort zone to talk to these incredible people that I can now call my friends today, and I would implore you to do the same.

 

Is there anything else you want us to know?

I am the Vice President and Lead Software Developer of the SPACE Team as well as the Treasurer for the STEM Club. In the SPACE Team I develop software that is used in a project that is part of NASA’s RockSat-X program. This has allowed me to experience working on a real, high-stake mission where every part of the project must work flawlessly to get the results you want. This year (2024), our project will be launched ~170km (about 105.63 mi) off the surface of Earth, and its primary goal is to capture spectrometric data from the Sun using an autonomous gimbal and spectrometer. I am greatly honored to be able to share my story about Blue Ridge and thank you all for your consideration.