Hello and welcome to anyone reading this blog! If not yet evident from the title, this post serves as an introduction for myself, Kelson Denton, including a bit about my background and my mindset heading into my senior software engineering project at OSU.

Growing up I honestly wasn’t incredibly interested in computers or how they worked, thinking of myself as more of an ‘outdoorsy’ kind of person. If someone asked me 10 years ago what my future profession would be they likely would’ve gotten an answer like ‘commercial fisherman’ or ‘construction worker’, both being things I had grown up doing.

This passion for the outdoors eventually led me to a large crop and livestock farm in Western Australia. On this farm I was fortunate enough to have employers who were very open about questioning traditional farming practices and pursuing new and more sustainable methods. We would frequently trial new devices to help us monitor seed output, paddock ground cover, or water tank levels to minimize the need for chemical and pesticide usage. This interest in sustainable agriculture was imparted to me during my time there, and opened my eyes to the fact that being passionate about technology and the natural world were not exclusive of one another.

After my time on the farm had come to an end I began a one year programming course at TAFE in Australia. I soon found that the type of creativity and problem solving required for programming exercises was very similar to that used in my previous jobs, something that I had very much enjoyed. This led me to begin my Bachelor’s of Science majoring in Computer Science at Oregon State University once my yearlong course was completed, and the rest is history.

Now a bit over a year into my time at OSU I am beginning my senior software engineering project and am finally getting the feeling that it is all coming full circle. Sponsored by the US Forest Service, my project selection for the course involves further developing application to help firefighters form an effective initial response to wildfire outbreaks. The idea of using technology to protect our natural environment is what led me to gain my initial interest in computer science, making me extremely excited to be working on this particular project.

I am planning to regularly update this blog with updates on the project, things I am learning, and my thoughts and feelings throughout the process. Thanks for reading and excited to begin my journey!