Before 9th grade, I had little to do with the field of study of computer science. Yet despite that, I was still fascinated with anything to do with computers as a kid. I loved games, and I still do, but when I was a kid if I could get my hands on any console to play on I would. Most of what I did that related to computer science was on code.org. Although in 7th and 8th grade I was in the GATE program which allowed me to put my creative foot forward. In 8th grade, I was also able to get certified in Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, before covid hit through my Survey of Business Class.

I was in AP Computer Science Principles in which I would create my first game "Super Back-Flip Man" using Snap! by Berkeley. This was the most influential class I could have taken as a 9th grader just due to how much computer science background it gave me on top of what I had learned on my own and figured out for myself. I also earned a 4 on the AP exam.

Although it wasn't the greatest game by any means, it was the start of a long journey and is something I can find pride in. It can be played on my games page too. The next year I made a lot more of a jump in terms of progress as well.

10th grade was the year I was able to invest myself in computer science. I was enrolled in 3 computer science classes. Programming 1, is the basis of my Python knowledge and what enabled me to get certified in Python. Information Technology Fundamentals, which I walked out of with a CompTIA certification under the same name. Then my favorite, Mobile App Development, with a fun engaging teacher who would I would have my remaining years of high school. I learned how to create games and I polished my pixel art skills as well in it. It wasn't an overly challenging class in and of itself, the challenge came from wanting to create something awesome to show off to the class.

My 10th-grade Mobile App Development teacher, Gina Lewis, who was also my teacher and mentor each year thereafter, was a big source of motivation for me. She knew exactly how to push your buttons to get you to work the best you could while still being fun and friendly. I think my life would be a lot different in terms of how I view computer science if I hadn't been a student of hers.

In my 11th grade year, I was in a multitude of AP classes, including AP Calculus AB, AP Physics 1, AP Statistics, And AP Language Arts. Which I earned a score of 4 in everything except AP Physics in which I earned a score of 3. During this year I also took the hardest class my High School had to offer, Independent Studies, a class in which you study whatever you want to your heart's desire in class relating to computer science. Although to begin with it wasn't all that hard, then I unlocked my potential and was studying constantly to get certifications and complete courses. I spent over 300 hours solely on this class. Although it was probably the best thing I could have done, as I walked out with the majority of the certifications you can see on my certifications page now. Due to our coursework in independent studies, we were able to present to ARCBest technologies as well.

Along with independent studies, I also took Mobile App Development 2 which was based on creating mobile web apps using React Native. Featured above is a video of one of the apps I created, a scorekeeper for the popular game "Cards Against" Humanity. Later in the summer, I would also find out that I was designated an Arkansas Student of Distinction for 2023.

My 12th-grade year has been a weirdly short feeling, maybe because I'm getting older but throughout this year I have attended a dual enrollment program at my local college, UAFS, called PEAK. At PEAK I am enrolled as a network engineering student where I am learning about computers, servers, software and hardware, and tech support skills. Along with this, I am virtually enrolled at my high school in an English 12 course, French II and AP CSA, due to the lack of room in my schedule to fit regular classes. The reason for this scheduling madness is that I am also an "intern" student and I go to work nearly every day at Cyber Spyder as the main Web Developer. During this year I was also designated an AP student of distinction, along with all my friends.