From joining Oregon State University’s Ecampus community during the peak of COVID-19, it is essential that I stop, take a breath, and realize how far I’ve come in these last two years, not only school-wise, but also in my career and personal life.
Moving out at 19 with nothing but a few bags of personal items, savings from COVID relief, and a $4,000 car to escape an abusive situation was a big move, especially to a city a hundred miles away from home. That’s where I started out, decided to take a gap year from my Business degree and just take a while to heal. Within the next few months, I got by as a nanny and began to meet new people in the Bay Area. Eventually, I decided my Business degree wasn’t as fulfilling as I wanted it to be, and that I wanted to develop a new skill. Naturally I picked what I thought was the hardest subject; computer science. Through my nannying, I stumbled onto a high powered couple running an AI-tech global business together called Presagen, focused on helping infertile couples improve their chances of conceiving. Getting a job within their company opened my eyes to the conceptual possibilities behind a career that combines both tech and business, finally realizing that is something I could see myself as a part of and hopefully having a similar passion to chase in the future. Combining my interest in business and a newfound passion and curiosity in tech led me to choose Oregon State University for my Bachelor’s degree. My gap year was essentially just two semesters’ length before I decided to make a leap and join Oregon State, abandoning my Business major for a computer science one, keeping it as a minor.
I never thought I was smart enough for Computer Science, as I was always more of a literary person, my favorite subjects in school being my English, History, and Art classes. I was half-decent at math, but prior to joining Oregon State, I had never really taken anything related to programming before. I knew that this leap in majors would greatly impact the length of time it took to get my degree, but I felt like this would be worth it. I have had opportunities to grow into my major over the last two years, and have kept an above 3.0 GPA this entire time. Not only that, but I have had opportunities to grow in my career in tech over these years as well. Working in a startup in its early stages has not only accelerated my learning journey, but presented me with opportunities to explore my creativity.
Now it’s nearing the end of 2023, and I have one more year until I finally graduate with my Bachelor’s in Computer Science. Two years ago, I never imagined I’d still be here and have made it. I had visions of quitting and running back to what was comfortable in the past, but now I know this is where my home is and I am on the right track. Everything happens for a reason, and I’m happy I took a leap and jumpstarted my life by moving out of a bad situation, finding my passions along the way.
Leave a Reply