my e-portfolio!
When I took the leap to return to college for a second go-around, I knew I wanted to start out at Chemeketa. I'd gone there for my first college degree in the '90s, and was well aware of Chemeketa's reputation for excellency as a community college - in part from when I previously transcribed minutes of the meetings of the State Board of Education.
I couldn't be happier that I made that choice to enroll at Chemeketa, to follow my dreams of a future in computer science. Classes are thorough and engaging, laying a good foundation of knowledge and experience, with challenging yet interesting assignments that reinforce everything from the instructor; speaking of which, the instructors are first-class and truly care about their students, helping them learn and truly understand, making every effort to give extra help when needed.
I will soon be graduating with an Associate of Science degree in Computer Information Systems, having followed the Web Development pathway. The classes I found most engaging and truly fun were any of the ones covering web design/development, any kind of programming, and database management. Linux was another favorite, I'd long been interested in that operating system. By the time I got to the last term of the three-term series of networking-related classes, I finally started feeling an affinity towards that side of things too.
In the Fall of 2017, I'll be transferring to Western Oregon Univeristy to earn an Applied Baccalaureate in Computer Science. Now, that is something I never thought I could or would ever do, for a variety of reasons... but, dreams can come true if you work for them, and off I'll go.
I've lived in Salem my entire life, and am a 3rd-generation Oregonian, as well as a 3rd-generation American. My paternal great-grandparents were from Norway, my paternal grandparents settled in Silverton, Oregon. My Dad has been doing genealogical research since 1956, so I've always been very aware of our heritage. Back in the late '90s, I built the database he still uses, and he's got records on over 16,000 relatives (alive or not). Now I know how to improve it!