Hey everyone!

I am new to the practice of blogging. Of course, I am familiar with what a blog is. I have even read several of them over the years. I just never really considered that I would ever write one. In fact, I used to wonder about how blog writers kept coming up with topics, post after post. Well….. here I am (wish me luck!). It sometimes seems strange how often I find myself performing tasks that I never considered I might be required to do or even want to do. Well, for better or worse, I am excited to give this a shot and I will do my utmost to inject a bit of my personality into these posts. Hopefully, that will make them engaging to read.

I thought the best way to begin would be to write a short post introducing myself. My name is Claude and I was born, raised and currently live in the New England region of the USA. I love to cook, read, and travel. In terms of cooking, I like to cook dishes from places I’ve visited and places I want to visit. I enjoy books of all types and lengths, though I would say that I generally read speculative fiction for pleasure. I particularly enjoy really long fantasy books/series (think Lord of the Rings or The Wheel of Time) and pretty much always have a book that I’m currently reading. Who knows, maybe I will find a way to incorporate those passions into this blog. Stay tuned!

My first degree was in Physics at the University of Richmond. My original goal was to pursue a PhD in a subfield of Physics and go into academia. I had even taken the GRE, applied to several different programs and been accepted to a few of them. However, as sometimes happens in life, I realized that my heart wasn’t truly invested in the path I had laid out for myself. Additionally, I didn’t have the desire to teach at the middle school/high school level. I might get more into this situation during a later post (we will see).

I was actually introduced to programming through physics. When I decided not to pursue a PhD in Physics, I performed a self inventory of what I had learned in college and what I was interested in. Through a bit of experimentation, I discovered that I really enjoyed the sense of building something with programming. I enjoyed the technical aspects of CS and programming, but also fell in love with the inherent creativity it offers. I explored a bit on my own, and eventually ended up applying to this program.

Professionally, before and after entering this program, I worked for a local construction company. I functioned in a managerial position. I wore many hats but an important aspect of my job was moving the company further into the digital world. This involved aspects of inventory management, online presence, advertising and a whole lot more. I would say that the greatest benefit I received from this job was truly learning to work as part of a team. I recently stepped back from that position in order to focus on finishing my CS degree.

I am very excited to get to know many of you throughout this class. If you happen to find my blog and are not in CS467, welcome as well! If you think we have similar interests, feel free to reach out to me. I’d love to discuss cooking, travel, or reading with you.