todd blog

I made a game called Troll Hunt for the game programming class I took this past semester. I spent an excessive amount of time writing a script and convincing friends to be voice actors. When I play the game, the cutscenes are longer than the actual gameplay. http://toadywonders.com/trollhunt

Forgive everyone?

Biking to the best parts in town.

Mini BBQ.

Bikes.

"Graduation" ceremony. May 2011.

Excited to be done with full-time academia.

Dad, Scott, Jim Henson, and Kermit the Frog all went to UMD too.

Our farms, our future.

I'll be spending six weeks with this lovely lady starting next week.

Family (with Scott as the photographer).

Comp sci kids at UMD are only allowed to take two comp sci classes per semester. Since I started the eight semester long program my second semester freshmen year, I got special permission to take a third class so I could graduate in the Spring of my senior year. Too much work + wasn't able to dedicate enough time to each class = defeat in one class. Thus taking an equivalent summer class is required. Meh. Life goes on.

La Tolteca. Greatest restaurant in Bel Air?

Drag race with only bugs at BugOut 69.

Michelle's broken foot.

Life is okay, I guess. I'm going through travel withdrawal after a month long motorbike trip around the country. I'm kinda glad I wasn't able to jump into working full-time immediately after "graduation."

After interviewing with 12 different companies, I finally received a job offer a day or two before "graduation" from a company I'm excited to work for. I will move from Maryland to Alexandria, Virginia after I destroy my summer class. Then a few months later I'll move far away to Herndon, Virginia when the company moves to a new building. New title: Associate Software Engineer. Sounds slightly cooler than "Web Developer Intern," or "College Kid," or whatever I was before.

Non-revolutionary thoughts about my four years at the University of Maryland:

-College is only as valuable as the time you put into it. Academically and socially there are tons of resources and opportunities. It's too easy to slack in both of those areas. There's a lot of luck in who is around you. Some people end up meeting life long friends right across the hall, and others feel like they're surrounded by bros they can't relate to everywhere they go.

-Most professors are smart and have cool research projects, but they aren't teachers.

-Honestly, one of my biggest fears about college before starting college was "am I really going to be prepared for a software engineering job after this?" And the answer to that is YES! I am fully capable of meeting and exceeding your company's expectations for that software engineering position you're looking to fill. :)