So, who am I?

I’ve always been fascinated with how things work. I find great satisfaction in being puzzled by a system, dismantling it, studying it, and in doing so, understanding it. Not all systems can be so trivially taken apart and studied however. After all, our modern world is built on millions of years of human intuition. Every day, people are using this ever-growing foundation to uncover new technologies and push society forward.

We interface directly with these technologies everyday, but its rare that we ever stop and wonder how they work. Why is that? Is it because people don’t care? Maybe. But I think there’s a better explanation (or at least a more interesting one). Here it goes: the people who create them don’t want you to know.

Let me explain. Scientists and engineers are not evil, they are just really good at what they do. They show you what you need, rarely bothering you with the intricacies of how or why. They are modern day magicians, and a good magician never reveals his secrets. Put the gas pump here and it’ll stop itself when the tank is full. Press the popcorn button and your corn will be popped to perfection. There is no need to confront the user with fuel pressure chokes or popcorn steam calculations. Life is complicated enough as it is. Good inventions should not make life anymore complicated, they should just work.

Like magic.

I’ve always been intrigued by this very concept. So much so that I decided to enroll in engineering at the University of Calgary. I wanted to understand what was really going on behind the smoke and mirrors, and maybe create some magic of my own.

My interests initially lay in mechanical systems and moving parts. However, everything changed when I took a programming course and waved std::cout << “Hello World!”; for the first time.

I quickly discovered a new world full of interesting problems and even more interesting solutions. Beyond being interesting, these new problems were real. How do we store, process, encrypt and send data? How do we design an interface so intuitive that it doesn’t require an instruction manual to operate?

By solving these types of problems, I learned that software empowers society. It enables doctors to diagnose, teachers to engage their students, families to communicate and so much more.

As my understanding of software grew, so did my passion. I was sold. Five years later I’m proud to say I graduated with a degree in Software Engineering.

During my degree I had the privilege to intern at a variety of software companies. I got to go behind the scenes and learn how software is built and maintained at an industry level. I got to apply my skills and make a tangible impact. I finally got to transform my curiosity into action, and action into results. I learned the beautiful and incredibly human satisfaction in applying your skills to make someone’s day even just a little better. I learned that there is no magic. Magic is simply well executed abstraction, done by dedicated individuals.

As I look ahead towards my future, there are many uncertainties. There are, however, some things I do know for certain. I will continue to learn and remain curious. I will uphold my responsibility to use my education and skills not for personal gain, but to leave a positive impact on the world.

If this at all resonated with you, let's chat. Maybe we can make some magic together.

- SC