I went to UNH originally to follow in my oldest brother's footsteps and become a lawyer. Then I realized I really hated writing research papers and public speaking. So, I stayed Liberal Arts undeclared in order to knock out the gen-ed requirements.
I transferred to Computer Science. I did okay in the intro courses, but hit a wall at the assembly language course (which I lovingly refer to as The Widowmaker). I also failed physics. Turns out I have a real issue identifying problems and separating them into their component pieces.
During that time, I was also going through a tough personal stretch. My family learned that my father was a child molester. He had molested my cousin/god mother from the ages of 8-16 in the early-to-mid 1980's. She never came forward until 1999 because she knew we needed his income to help pay for my medical expenses. It's hard to describe exactly how much of a piece of shit you feel like when you know your mere existence contributed to a loved one's ongoing violation, pain, humiliation, and fear. At the same time, my girlfriend dumped me, and we had to put the family dog down. I really wasn't in a good head space for a while. Thankfully, my father (who was a mentally abusive prick in addition to being a molester) has been rotting in prison since 2001. My brothers and I have changed our last names to our mom's maiden name.
So, yeah... I spun my wheels at school for a bit while my personal life disintegrated. I knew I had to graduate with some kind of degree, so I transferred to Communication (no 's' at the end), and managed to bring my GPA to the high 3.xx's with three or four straight 4.0 semesters despite the previous failing grades in CS and physics.
Final tally:
Went to UNH from fall 1997 - spring 2004 due to changes in my major, failing at CS, and not having a full course load every semester due to my disability
Got my BA in Communication, with minors in Computer Information and Technology and Music
Currently:
Working as a freelance web programmer. Self-taught, except for what little I remembered from my intro CS classes. And a far better human being than my father could ever hope to be.
I transferred to Computer Science. I did okay in the intro courses, but hit a wall at the assembly language course (which I lovingly refer to as The Widowmaker). I also failed physics. Turns out I have a real issue identifying problems and separating them into their component pieces.
During that time, I was also going through a tough personal stretch. My family learned that my father was a child molester. He had molested my cousin/god mother from the ages of 8-16 in the early-to-mid 1980's. She never came forward until 1999 because she knew we needed his income to help pay for my medical expenses. It's hard to describe exactly how much of a piece of shit you feel like when you know your mere existence contributed to a loved one's ongoing violation, pain, humiliation, and fear. At the same time, my girlfriend dumped me, and we had to put the family dog down. I really wasn't in a good head space for a while. Thankfully, my father (who was a mentally abusive prick in addition to being a molester) has been rotting in prison since 2001. My brothers and I have changed our last names to our mom's maiden name.
So, yeah... I spun my wheels at school for a bit while my personal life disintegrated. I knew I had to graduate with some kind of degree, so I transferred to Communication (no 's' at the end), and managed to bring my GPA to the high 3.xx's with three or four straight 4.0 semesters despite the previous failing grades in CS and physics.
Final tally:
Went to UNH from fall 1997 - spring 2004 due to changes in my major, failing at CS, and not having a full course load every semester due to my disability
Got my BA in Communication, with minors in Computer Information and Technology and Music
Currently:
Working as a freelance web programmer. Self-taught, except for what little I remembered from my intro CS classes. And a far better human being than my father could ever hope to be.
"I was thirsty for everything, but blood wasn't my style" - Live, "Voodoo Lady"
