With a goal of earning a degree in computer programming one day, second year OLS student TJ aspires to work on coding specific aspects of a video game one day for his career. Already quite adept at programming, TJ learned a lot of what he knows through research and courses he took through WANIC, and he has a lot of side projects he uses to challenge himself. “One of the projects is a dice roller for Dungeons and Dragons so players have an electronic die.” This would be a really handy addition to the Dungeons and Dragons electronic mat he’s also working on.
In addition to his programming skills, TJ is also highly knowledgeable in engineering, a skill he has applied to playing music. TJ learned how to play guitar his senior year of high school, and last year he purchased a Dean Vendetta electric guitar. In order to play Nirvana songs, he needed an effects pedal, but instead of buying one, he plans to build it.
“The effects pedal makes the music so much more interesting,” he explained. “I made my own because it’s actually cheaper to buy the components for it, and that way you have complete control over the circuit.” According to TJ this gives him control over the sound, allowing him to combine different effects and have control over the transistors. TJ has another music-related passion project he’s working on: a music player that imitates the effects of a guitar or piano.
OLS is helping TJ learn many skills that will help him reach his goals, especially group dynamics. “I wanted to join OLS because I figured it would help me learn the basic skills to hold and maintain a job. Working in programming means you are working with various people and bringing projects together on tight deadlines. I think OLS will help me maximize my effort in working with groups.”
One of the biggest things TJ has learned at OLS came from his Career Portfolio course last year. “I learned how to Make Excellent Mistakes which are mistakes you can learn from. When you don’t complete a project, instead of seeing it as a failure, see it as a learning opportunity. You can still do it. You just need to prioritize the idea as something to capitalize on later and get what’s needed done first. Then you can work on capitalizing. But if you never get to it, it ain’t the end of the world either.”
The concept of making excellent mistakes comes from the manga Johnny Bunko. You can check out the whole graphic novel here, and check out last year’s story on students enjoying this part of the Career Portfolio course.
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Last Updated December 7, 2021