Greetings All,
My name is Trenton Schmidt, but Trent will do just fine. I was born and raised in Nebraska, and I currently reside in the capital city of Lincoln, which puts me in CST. I am married, have a relatively newborn girl, and we have a dog and a cat. Currently, I’m working full-time and going to school full-time, so my schedule has been pretty hectic the past two years. Now I added being a full-time parent to the list, so to say the least, now there’s even less free time (if that’s somehow possible).
In my free time before school started, and between terms now, I enjoy working on our house, on our cars and being outdoors. We are avid hikers and enjoy traveling to new places to explore. I also like to game here and there, mostly on the PC. Currently, I’m playing Planet Crafter, thanks to the wife for getting me hooked on that one!
I’ve always gravitated towards computers, and they were my favorite classes growing up. Right out of high school, I attended trade school to become a mechanic in the electromechanical space. Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) were where I wanted to spend my time, and my first job out of college was a controls technician. After a career change to a medical maintenance field, I got away from programming and until recently I didn’t realize how much I missed it. This led to me going back to school to pursue my bachelors (and masters) in computer science.
It’s been a great experience so far as a student at OSU, and I’m looking forward to finishing up and getting my first software development job! I currently don’t know what that job looks like, but I am incredibly excited nevertheless. I’ve chosen to do the custom focus path for my degree and I’ve tailored it towards AI and data science. Likewise, I’m also in the Accelerated Masters Platform (AMP) program where I will be getting my masters of engineering, also focusing on AI.
I’ve been enjoying all the exposure to the different programming languages so far in my coursework. It feels like Python is the easiest for me to pick up and come back to when I’ve been learning other languages. That being said, I’ve really enjoyed getting practice at C/C++. Before starting my courses, I had no prior experience, and it feels like knowledge of C/C++ will be a major bonus when starting the job searching after school.
Reflecting on my projects thus far, I think my favorite project(s) so far have been either the website we created as part of Web Development (CS 290) or the Treasure Hunt app we created as part of Mobile Development (CS 492). Perhaps these were my favorite projects because I was able to produce a visual/tangible product that I was able to showcase to others. I suppose this should help with guiding how I might want to apply the AI aspect of my degree to a future job?
