I can remember, albeit vaguely, the early days of personal computing. I was quite young at the time, but I played DOS games with my parents. Thus began my interest in technology. Even younger, I began taking art classes at the Worcester Art Museum, and continued taking them into high school. Also at a young age, I started playing piano, and quickly moved on to saxophone, which I played for seven years before I started teaching myself guitar.
At Wachusett Regional High School, I took programming classes (BASIC and AP Java) in addition to the required curriculum. Due to circumstances somewhat beyond my control, it was difficult to get into the classes I wanted. I did, however, take French throughout high school and hosted a French student for a few weeks during one summer. The next summer, I visited his family's apartment in Paris, and went to the Atlantic Coast. Visiting France was not only a chance to practice my French, but also the beginning of my interest in photography.
During the same time, I was also cultivating my interest in technology. I attended the National Youth Leadership Forum on Technology in San Jose, where I met people interested in technology, and listened to industry officials, including Kevin Mitnick and Steve Wozniak, speak about the important issues of the time. I also attended Digital Media Academy at Stanford University, where I learned 3D modeling with Maya.
In addition, I've always enjoyed family trips to places all over the US, Israel and Canada. I began taking pictures when I went to France, and continued doing so with my Nikon D70 on successive trips to California. Photography was really the fusion of my two interests, as I began touching up my photos in Photoshop and sharing them on deviantART. Oddly enough, I did not choose to major in Photography at RIT; I would insert a quote, but I don't quite remember it, it was about keeping your passion a hobby, lest it become banal.
I did, of course, choose something that would combine my interests when choosing a major. New Media fits, my major tasks me with learning design principles as well as programming languages. My projects must be functional and aesthetically pleasing. The internet is fast becoming the foremost platform for advertising and distributing products, and with a degree in New Media, I'll be a part of that.
