My desire to learn and work as a software engineer is longstanding and deep rooted. However, the reasons for this are just now crystallising for me.
I grew up in a Ukrainian city that recently has been “acquired” by Russia. In poor families like ours, it was only a dream to have a computer and be able to create magic with different programs. My passion for mathematics and physics allowed me to understand the concepts of programming when we were taking computer science courses in school but without a computer at home there was no way for me to practice what I was learning.
When I was 14 my mother won the green card lottery and brought me to America as a single parent. This brought many new challenges. I was already a pre-teen and had to leave all of my friendships behind, move to a new country, and learn a new language and a completely new culture.
Education has always been a strong cultural element of Ukrainian families so thankfully my mother pushed me to always study hard. However, that educ