I saw a problem that I wanted to fix. I actually did my
undergraduate work in electrical engineering, and I was working.
And, while I was working one day, I happened to be in the
grocery store. And I saw a guy that came in the store, and he
wanted a job to be a bagger. And the lady said, sure, just go
to the computer and fill out an application. And he looked at
the computer horrified and walked out the store. And I
started thinking about it, and like, stayed with me for a few
days. And I was, like, you know, we're creating a problem in our
society, but we're not creating a solution for it. So I quit my
job and I went back to school. And I was kinda told the way I
needed to, that computer science was kind of like the answer to
that problem, so-
Everybody puts on their pants one leg at a time. Growing up, I
had a lot of anxiety issues, and so, I was kind of afraid of
people. And things kind of made me nervous, and so, I was told,
you know, when it all comes down to it, everyone puts on their
pants one leg at a time. Everyone's, no one's different
from you in any regard, so no need to fear.
I don't know if I really had one. Like, I was always getting
into stuff. And I was just always, you know, asking the
random questions and just like, well, how does it do that? And
like, why does it do that? And, like, and I would take stuff
apart, like, oh, that's how it works. And then I would leave it
there and walk away and then get in trouble.
That I get to be an investigator. So it's almost
like those old Carmen San Diego games, where you're like kind of
given clues and then you have to go on this like mystery hunt.
And so as a researcher, I'm always kind of on this hunt. And
it's like, well, and looking at these different pieces and how
they kind of come together to paint this bigger picture. So
I'm always kind of investigating and kind of looking at how
things fit together and realizing that how everything's
kind of intertwined and so how all these pieces kind of come
together to make something cool.
Asking questions. Just always, you know, the obvious things are
like, you know, patience and, like, persistence, but the
questions. The fact that you, that's what drives you.
I look at people's every day needs and the way they interact
with things in their life. And then how do we build that in
computing, so then it meets them where they are, as opposed to
asking them to, you know, hey, here's the piece of technology.
Learn it, love it. But more so, here, it's already embedded in
your life, and you already think this way. You already use it.
I'm just putting it in a different medium.
I would have to say my adviser. He's really kind of helped me,
like broaden my horizons and kind of come out my shell, as a
researcher, and has forced me to realize that I, I'm, I impose a
lot of my own boundaries and to overcome them.
My background, actually, people who know me know that my first
love is theater. And so I kinda came out from this very
different world, so to speak, and people who know me from
theater are like, you're doing computing? That's such a waste
of talent and creativity. And I'm like, no, it's the opposite.
Like, it's a different way to use creativity, and so like,
it's actually fun. Not like what people think of is, like, nerd
fun, but like true, like, I enjoy it. So a lot of fun.
So, I spent some time working in the outback and so I was living
with an Aboriginal community. And, looking at how they do some
of their everyday things, and thinking, I can design something
for that. And so it's like, you know, you go back and it's like,
okay, this, they do this, but here we can program this and
create that. And it's like, oh, my gosh. That's the coolest
experience. And so just looking at, like, everyday life and how,
you know, you just do things that you think are just natural
and it's like, oh, my gosh, we could create a program to make
this better and it adds this on and so, it's just different ways
that just, it's just a lot of fun.
I'm a minimalist. I don't keep much in my office, so it'd most
likely be my laptop. Just because that's pretty much the
only thing of value I keep in my office.
I'm all about music that inspires me, so anything that
encourages and inspires, so I tend to listen to a lot of,
like, Christian rap, soul music, or things of that nature, just
anything that's just, like, it's more, it's less about the genre
of music, for me, and more about, like, the lyrics, and
like, the way and the feel that the music gives me. So when I
listen to a song, if I feel like I'm, you know, I can take over
the world then it's like, that's what I'm listening to a lot
of the times.