I have always been interested in computers from a young age. When I was 12, I took apart my first computer, it was so old it had DDR2 RAM. I taught my self nearly everything I know about computers using the internet and messing around. Three years later I had learned enough about computers to construct my first gaming machine; for those interested in the specs it has an AMD Ryzen 7 380X overclocked stable at 4.75 Ghz, 64 Gb DDR4 RAM. 4.25 TB SSD storage including 1Tb of NVME M.2 storage and an overclocked Radeon RX 580. Once I was in grade 10, I was able to take the computer courses that our school offered. Through grade 10-12 I have completed the following Cisco courses, IT Essentials, Networking Essentials and Cybersecurity Essentials. During that period of in-class learning I continued to teach my self more and more about computers using the internet. I now know a variety of advanced topics, everything from overclocking to RAID setups. Eventually I started helping friends and family with their technology problems. Later, in 2019 after doing a bunch of market research, I got my MBL and opened Waterford Computer Repairs. I have been running that business successfully for two years now and I have learned a lot. I have built or worked on over 25 computers doing everything from upgrades to fully custom builds. I have also built three servers and configured them to be a FTP, VPN and even a Minecraft server.

Sometime when I was 15, I started to look into what makes a computer work. I realised that computer science was an emerging well-paying career in a field I like, so I began to teach myself about it. I taught myself batch, wrote a few programs and essentially gave up until I took Computer Science in Grade 11. My first language that I learned in class was C#, later in that class a few of the keen students, including myself, also learned python. By the end of that course I was competent enough to make a Unity game using C#. I loved that class so much that I switched one of my grade 11 electives with the grade 12 Computer Science class. I was the only grade 11 in that class, and I achieved the highest mark. I now know a variety of languages such as C#, Python, R, Batch, VB, JS, HTML, CSS and I am currently learning C++ with plans to later learn C then Java. I have posted the projects that I have worked on and that I think others could use, to my GitHub. I recommend to check out my machine learning program. You can also find the code powering this website there as well. In addition, you can play some of the web games that I have made by clicking “Web Games” at the top of the screen. I am currently working on developing my first app. I don’t want to give too much away, but it will be something that I think people could use in their daily lives. It will be opensource and when I am finished, and I will post a link to it on my website.

I have always liked the idea of working for myself. When I was 11, a friend and I started growing vegetables in our backyards. When they were ready for harvest, we would load them into a wagon and go around town selling the produce. After running that business for two years, we decided to start another business called Waterford Landscapers. We decided to enter that business idea into the Municipal SSUP (Student Start Up Program) grant program. We were awarded the grant of $200, which was a lot for two 13 year olds and it would go a long way. We never cashed the cheque because after a few weeks of running it we decided that was not worth out effort. Fast forward a few years and in 2018 I was selected by our school to participate in a provincial business program. It consisted of four business seminars which were far more in-depth into the world of business the what you do in Highschool classes. From there I learned about the Summer Company Program offered through the BRC (Brant Resource Center). You submit your business idea or ongoing business plan and it is review by a panel of experts. There were over 1000 applicants and if you were selected you were awarded a $3000 grant as well as five business seminaries. Then is when I decided to open Waterford Computer Repairs, which blended my love of technology with my love of business. I received that grant too. I was the youngest of 10 students to be in the program. I got $3000 which helped with my large upfront costs; my insurance nearly ate up a third of the grant. What I found far more valuable than the money was the training. The training sessions were a mixture of seminars on various fields and tactics of business, as well having guest speakers that ranged from wealthy entrepreneurs in the area to tax information from the CRA. Today, I work a job in a restaurant while running my business. If there is a business and or technology seminar, I still like to attend it. Due to COVID, however, I am temporarily closed but I am excited to hopefully reopen this summer. When I go to university, I will probably sell my business to another local entrepreneur and I plan to bring my expertise and experience with me to university.

Aside from running my business and working at a restaurant in town, I like to keep myself occupied. I have been a part of our school’s Physics Club since its creation and just this year I was a part of a group of students that created our school’s first Robotics Club. The rest of my extracurricular activates and hobbies have nothing to do with the school. Starting in grade 10 I started to volunteer at a local museum where I was mainly a camp counsellor for kids ages 5-12. When I was not in charge of the kids, I was helping the museum Director put together historical exhibits. Occasionally, I would also help out with events that the museum hosted. I have a passion for history as my town (Waterford) is one of the oldest around. Volunteering at the museum helped fulfill my passion and I have over 200 hours of volunteer service for the museum. Aside from my volunteering I also enjoy being physically active. I used to play soccer, but when I was in grade nine I sort of lost interest in it and started to look for other sports. Then, I joined a fencing club with a few friends. I did that until grade 10 when, unfortunately, the teams had to move to the far side of Brantford to a lack of funding which was way too far for us to drive. I then took up ping pong and played that for the rest of the year. In grade 11 I took up airsoft and tennis. I would have tried out for our school’s tennis teams but COIVD struck so that didn’t happen. I quite enjoy airsoft; I play with a few friends in a three-by-seven kilometer area. It is quite a workout. When I am not playing sports, I have a few other activities that I like to do. I try to read a new book every two months, as many successful people will tell you, reading is good for you. I also like to travel. My parents have a philosophy that traveling and meeting new people can give you a different perspective on life and I agree. My most recent hobbies are coding and photography. I like to take pictures wherever I go so I figured that I would post them, if you click, “Photography” at the top of the page it will show you all of my photos.

As you may have gathered, I am quite a busy person. Up until halfway through grade 11 I did not take school very seriously. I am a fast learner, I can usually pickup material before the rest of my class. Combine that with the fact that I didn’t have much free time to devote to school (and still don’t), I would not study. I would always do my work and I have never handed in a single assignment late in high school but when it came to studying for tests or doing homework I would do neither. That being said, I have had honours every year and I am usually within the top five in my classes. After taking university math in grade 11, I have realised that it was a mistake to not study in my previous years. I spent some time last summer reviewing the math that I had forgotten so I could get back on track. When it comes to school, I have the philosophy that unless you can actually put into practice what you learned then you don’t understand it. For example, many of my classmates would just memorize certain laws of physics for our quizzes. While it might help them with their quizzes, they couldn’t answer thinking questions on a test because they were memorizing the material, rather then understanding it. Hence why I enjoy physics, it explains how the world works. I like computer science because you get to see how the systems that power the world work. I am also a believer that school won’t teach you everything you need in life. Still, I like to learn so I teach my self as much as I can. I like to watch videos, attend seminars and read. In fact, I have read so many books I have nearly filled a bookshelf.

Extra education:

1. Cisco Networking Academy IT Essentials
2. Cisco Networking Academy Networking Essentials
3. Cisco Networking Academy Cybersecurity Essentials
4. Fluent in Java, C#, JS, Python, R, VB, Batch, HTML and CSS (Currently learning C++)
5. Capable of building and defending a large verity of advanced computer systems and networks
6. HarvardX: Data Science: R Basics
7. SASB Seminar
8. 2020 Vision into the Future Conference
9. StudentBIZ: Introduction to the Business Plan Seminar
10. StudentBIZ: Marketing and Sales Semina
11. StudentBIZ: Understanding the Numbers Seminar
12. StudentBIZ: Business Etiquette Seminar
13. Summer Company: Business Practices Seminar
14. Summer Company: Business Information Seminar
15. Summer Company: Networking Seminar
16. Summer Company: Mentorship Seminar
17. Summer Company: Finances Seminar
18. For more information on my additional education see the paragraphs above
19. In addition to this I expand on my learning daily through the use of books, videos and the internet

Awards and Achievements:

1. Grade 9, 10, 11 and 12 honour rolls
2. Highest Standing Award Grade 11 Computer Technology
3. Highest Standing Award Grade 12 Computer Science (Taken in Grade 11)
4. Awarded access to compete in Google’s FooBar Challenge
5. Municipal SSUP Award
6. Letter of Congratulations from local MP
7. Summer Company Program Award from Mayor
8. Summer Company Program Award from MPP
9. Letter of congratulations from Cisco for IT Essentials
10. Letter of congratulations from Cisco for Networking Essentials
11. Letter of congratulations from Cisco for Cybersecurity Essentials
12. The owner of Waterford Computer Repairs
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