Introductions
Hello and welcome to the very first post of Blogging a Capstone! First off, my name is Jacob Souther. I live in Colorado with my girlfriend and incredibly adorable pup, Skye (I might be biased). We live a dual existence of outdoor enthusiasm and video game enjoyment with a small dash of love for craft beer.
Beyond the boring introductions, I am also a computer science student at Oregon State University. This blog will document my journey through my online capstone course which will officially put a ribbon on my online college experience. Before I can begin to document the goings on of my capstone project, I believe it prudent to explain how I got here.
Degree, The First
I began my college experience at CU Boulder in the undergraduate program for Chemical and Biological Engineering. I struggled and heaved and powered my way through completing that degree. Halfway through the program I knew it wasn’t what I wanted, but hey, we all need that piece of paper that allows us to find a job right? So instead of changing gears I stayed on the straight path, finished the degree, and landed myself a job as a validation engineer in the pharma industry. As I already knew would happen, that experience soured quickly. I stuck with that position for a year and then managed to create myself a new position within the company as a support specialist. I was the sole support guru for a very specialized software. It was at this point I realized I wanted to pursue a career in software.
Degree, The Second
Out of sheer luck, my company was fairly small and loose on regulations and red tape. So I worked out a deal to go back to school on the company dime and get myself a computer science degree. I have since continued as working as a support specialist while taking online courses. I have taken three courses a year to bring myself to a nice, hefty five year degree program which is nearing its end. In that time I have been promoted to now manage a small support team, have met and will soon move across the country with my girlfriend, and have grown quite a bit as an employee and a person. I could have never imagined where my life would be now when I started this degree five years ago. Hopefully five years from now will bring the same surprises. I am excited to document this journey whether it is seen by only myself or finds its away across the web. In the end, I will have a record of a significant milestone that I can look back on.
