Hello! My name is Nicholas Nelson, and I am beginning my fourth and final year at OSU! I live in Grand Ronde, Oregon, which is an hour’s drive away from the Corvallis campus. After spending the last year making that commute, I decided to take most of my classes online this year to save the time I used to spend driving.

I have one dog and one cat, and I enjoy playing strategy video games and Magic: The Gathering.

I became interested in computers at a very young age, always wanting to go through my dad’s computer and check out every installed application. I loved learning how to build a computer and understanding what each component did just by watching YouTube videos. In high school, I got into coding when I joined a robotics club. I had the opportunity to code how our robot moved and performed complex tasks, and it was then that I decided I wanted to study computer science after graduation.

I didn’t immediately attend OSU. Instead, I spent my first two years of college at Chemeketa Community College as it was financially the best idea. After completing two years there, I transferred to OSU, with it being my preferred choice. I met some amazing people during my first year here and I hope to meet even more!

I currently work as a prep cook at Spirit Mountain Casino, where they have been very accommodating of my school schedule in allowing me to focus on my education.

My favorite programming languages are Python and C++. I originally learned C++ as my primary language, but I have come to appreciate Python as well. My preferred IDE is Visual Studio Code, and I recently learned React.js over the summer which I enjoyed a lot.