This is a collaborative article made by us three interns of Fullspeed in which we decided to talk about our introduction and experiences to the world of programming!

Miguel Trinidad

My IT Journey: Overcoming Challenges and Embracing Opportunities

My journey in the IT world started because I was excited about all the opportunities it offers and the good money that comes with it. When I began college, I struggled a lot with programming classes during the first few years. Coding was tough, and I didn’t do well in those subjects. My grades were bad. But I didn’t give up. I kept going, even when things were hard. I made friends along the way, and as time went on, many of them changed their majors.

Now, as I’m about to graduate, I look back and remember how things have changed. Only one of my friends from when I started is still doing IT. It’s been a great journey full of learning. I got to work with programming languages like C++, C#, JavaScript, and Java. These were like the building blocks of my programming skills. It wasn’t always easy, but I didn’t stop trying.

What makes this journey special is the friends I’ve made and the things I’ve learned. We faced challenges together, and even though most of my friends chose different paths, I remained as an IT. Now, as I get ready to finish college, I’m proud of what I’ve achieved. I’ve learned a lot, not just about computers but also about myself. This journey is just the beginning. I’m excited to see where my IT skills will take me next.

Being an intern at an amazing company is something I never thought would happen to me. I used to believe that interns were just supposed to do simple tasks like making coffee or photocopying papers for their seniors. But my experience at this company has been completely different. Here, I’m learning about new technologies and skills that my school didn’t teach me.

When I first got accepted here, I had high hopes, but now that I’m in my sixth week, I can say that this company has exceeded my expectations. It’s not just about the work; it’s the company culture that’s truly wonderful. I feel like I belong here, and the positive environment is all around me.

What’s even more exciting is that I’ve made new friends from other schools who share the same passion as me. It’s great to connect with people who are as enthusiastic about technology as I am. This internship has shown me that there’s so much more to learn and experience than I initially thought. It’s not just about the tasks; it’s about personal and professional growth. This journey has opened my eyes to the endless possibilities in the IT world, and I’m grateful for the chance to be part of it.

Jade Wapano

Discovering New Opportunities and Expanding My Skill Set

When I was younger, I was fascinated by computers. I remember the day my parents brought home my first PC and how excited I was to explore its features. That’s how I discovered the internet and video games, which made me even more interested in technology and its positive impact on our lives. As I grew older, my passion for technology continued to expand, which ultimately made my decision to pursue IT. I first learned about computer programming in senior high school, where we were introduced to C language basics. It was manageable back then, but when I got to college, I realized programming was much more complex and challenging than I thought. I had to learn various programming languages, including front-end languages like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and BootStrap, and back-end languages like PHP, JAVA, and MySQL. As I progressed, We were introduced to Laravel, a framework we frequently use in medium to large web development projects such as IM, Design Project, and Capstone. This helped me to enhance my abilities even further. I can still remember how challenging it was to learn all those languages. Still, the satisfaction of finally understanding them was enormous.

My experience as an intern in this company has been amazing so far. I feel grateful to have learned a lot from my fellow interns, especially to my mentor who has been so supportive and helpful throughout my journey. This company has given me a unique and valuable learning experience, which has helped me expand my knowledge and skills beyond what I learned in school. From cutting-edge technologies to invaluable expertise, I have gained so much from my time here. I am excited to continue to learn and grow.

Raymond Aya-ay

Hello World!

**Computer class was always a subject I was fond of participating in ever since I was a kid. At school, out of all of my subjects, Chinese, Math, English, PE, dismissal, and Computer Class was a subject that I was looking forward to the most. We had a wide range of topics in class like making animation, making websites, and using Python to make a turtle draw shapes.

At the time when I was in high school, and even until now, I was an avid gamer. I love to play games. I found out that some of my favorite games were games only made by one person. That fact inspired me and I pursued game development for a year, it introduced me to C# and other programming concepts like classes and objects. A year later, I came to realize that it takes more work effort and skill than I thought. I could get by making the code of the game, but I was struggling to make the music of the game, the player models, the art style, and the networking. In the end, I stopped making games, but I still kept my desire to code.

I then entered college by choosing Computer Science as my course. The reason I chose this course was that I wanted to design and develop applications rather than troubleshoot and maintain computers and networks. It was exciting starting my college life, I began to work on my interpersonal skills by joining my department’s student council. I made more effort than I made back in high school and I got my first academic achievement after years by being a dean’s lister. I was grateful that I introduced myself to coding early because that gave me the foundation not only to help myself but also to help others with learning the basics of programming.

After a semester had passed, unfortunately, that’s when the global pandemic, COVID-19, began and our lockdown began. Little did we know that our “2-week” lockdown would end up being 2 years. During that time, due to the nature of our course, we weren’t affected that much because all we needed was our computers and laptops, unlike the other courses that need instruments, and machines, and require a face-to-face environment.

In this period I was underloaded in my subjects and had extra free time, I decided to give myself a head start by applying for an internship early. I luckily got accepted into the company and made the most out of it. I learned more about Laravel, learned how to use MERN. Unfortunately, my time spent there was not credited due to me not talking to the coordinator first and not making my weekly journal. Although it was not credited, it was an insightful experience and it gave me a glimpse of what to expect when I enter the industry.

And now this leads us to the present of this story, where I am currently doing my On Job Training to prepare me for the industry after I graduate. I still have one year left before I graduate and I hope I make the most of it while I am still considered a student and make the most out of the free time I have before I truly become a working citizen in this community.**