My name is Spencer Eric Fong, and I was born in 1999 in San Francisco, California. I’m half Korean and half Chinese, and as of right now I’m 20 years old. I’ve lived in the Bay Area all the way up until I entered college and started attending the University of California, Irvine as a computer science major. I graduated in March 2021, and am back in the Bay Area figuring out my life now, day by day.
So, why Computer Science?
My entire life I’ve been fascinated with computers and technology in general. My dad is a retired programmer, and his passion for computers and the like really rubbed off on me. I’ve been tinkering around with computers since I was a little kid, and to this day I still love it when I get to put together a new build or upgrade my own rig. I knew from a young age that when I grew up, I wanted to work with computers.
Surprisingly enough though, my first experience with actual coding wasn’t until my senior year of high school, when I took AP Computer Science and learned how to program in Java. It was a challenging but extremely rewarding class, and did a whole lot to enforce my decision of going into computer science in university. And as luck would have it, I was accepted into UCI as a computer science major, and here I am 3 full years later. It’s definitely not easy, but I love what I do and I’m so excited to keep on learning and growing as a programmer and as a person.
Ever since then, I’ve learned so much and have grown leaps and bounds as a programmer. By now, I would go so far as to say I’m definitely competent and worth my salt, and along with everything else I bring to the table I’m confident I’d be a valuable asset to any team or project. (wink wink Please hire me, thanks.) I still have so much to improve on though, and it’s a goal of mine that as I gain more and more experience I’ll be able to one day become that “programming whiz” that people like to tell their kids and friends about as being a real smarty.
In the end though, it all boils down to the fact that I’m at my happiest when I’m at a computer. I don’t even have to be doing anything in particular; it’s just that something about having the potential to do so much really gets me going. Modern computers are so incredibly powerful, which is something that I feel many people overlook and just take for granted. It never fails to amaze me how at my fingertips I have a machine that lets me do anything from watching a movie to creating an application to chatting with someone on the other end of the globe. Being at a computer makes me feel at home, and if I could have a future where I would get to be at a computer for the majority of my working time, there’s no contest.
My Aspirations
Plain and simple, computers are the future. Each and every day technological advancements are made, which brings humanity as a whole further and further forward.
I want to be a part of this phenomenon, where the work that I do will help progress not only the tech of humankind, but will improve the lives of everyone around the world. It’s impossible to go even a day without hearing about some sort of tragedy or act of injustice occurring somewhere on this planet, and honestly it really discourages me sometimes. However, right along side all the bad things, there’s always some new technological breakthrough or development that has potential to really make a difference. That’s what keeps me going, and what gives me so much motivation to pursue computer science. Although it’s impossible to bring all atrocities on Earth to an end, it’s still something that I want to strive for. I want everyone to be able to live happily and healthily, and I firmly believe that improving technology is what will make that happen.
It is my dream that in part due to my efforts and contributions during my lifetime, there will be sometime in the future where this grand aspiration of mine will finally come to light. I’m not so naïve to believe that it’s really going to be that simple; I know very well that it’s going to be unlikely and difficult and I’ll have to work harder than I’ve ever worked before to make my aspirations become reality. However, I’m fully prepared to tackle this lofty challenge, and I welcome it. I’ll run into countless obstacles and have to overcome many challenges, but I know that as long as I keep on moving forward, learning and growing, I’ll be able to achieve something I can be proud of.
Because even if I don’t end up changing the world, as long as I can make a difference, I’ll be happy.