My journey began on the island of Java in Indonesia, living there for seven years before moving to the United States in 2006. The western world is a very different frontier in more ways than one. Before learning languages such as C++ and Java to command computer programs, I first had to learn to speak English to communicate to the people in this new land. But perhaps the biggest change I encountered was the shift in technology. In this world, everyone seemed to have comforts such as central air conditioning and flat screen television. I went from having dial-up internet to stable Wi-Fi connection and quickly became immersed in the cybersphere. I remembered how daunting it was at first to navigate the internet just to contact my family back in Asia, but soon using the computer became second nature to me. I would spend hours upon hours connecting with people online, playing games, watching videos, and listening to music. Spotify is among my favorite and most used applications and it inspired me to pursue a minor in Statistics to go along with a BS in Computer Science as they showed me how powerful analysis of big data can be through their remarkable song recommendation algorithm (and their many other features). Each week I listen to the tunes personally suggested to me and more often than not I stumble upon something that catches my ear. It is especially gratifying when Spotify recommends a niche song that I end up liking because it is unlikely that I will find this song if it was not suggested to me. Finding new music has become my favorite pastime.

As one might guess, my biggest interest outside of computer science is music. Besides listening to and searching for new songs, I dabble in some songwriting. Additionally, I love playing the flute and own other instruments (including a piano, a guitar, and a violin) but I have not been able to master those instruments, not for lack of trying. I am also an avid sports fan, supporting Manchester United in soccer, Scuderia Ferrari in Formula One racing, and Houston sports teams in whichever sports they play. In my free time, I enjoy watching streams on Twitch both as a form of entertainment and as a tool to help me improve in games such as chess and Overwatch. Photography is another big hobby of mine and I have traveled to all 50 states (as well as a few places internationally) in search of beautiful places to capture images of. Among the places I have been to, I hope to be able to revisit Canada and New Zealand. And of course, Java.