Introduction

I was born in Perth, and live in Canberra with my family. I studied Software Engineering at Edith Cowan in Perth, and started working in the field while at uni. It has taken me around various parts of Australia, and to China, corresponding with teams all around the world. I love to see my code in use, and I truly do want to make the world a better place with the products that I choose to work on.

Technology

I was first introduced to computers by my Dad when he brought home an old PC when me and my siblings were still quite young. I was enthralled by the DOS games, and enchanted by the terminal. It was from then on that I had a fascination with them. When I got into High School, there were computers everywhere, the only problem was, they were all macs. Luckily, the school's IT staff didn't lock them down very well, and so I was able to write an apple script that stopped the remote monitoring tools. I spent much of my High School years creating maps for various games and forcing my friends to play them, so I can understand how games can draw you in and help you engage. I think that the only reason I can tell you where many countries in Europe are is because of games, and I think that simply having tangential, real, elements in a game can help you learn new things in exciting ways.

Education

I studied Computer Science at Edith Cowan and went from university to my first coding job, followed by another, and another, working my way up and building my skills, all the while keeping my passion projects on the side. I worked for several startups and eventually realised that while I loved the challenge and excitement of them, that I wouldn't put the amount of effort required in unless I had a personal stake in the company. I moved to Canberra and started working for defence companies, who I thought had the most interesting problems to solve. That's where I started my family. But I was still searching for something worthwhile to put my technical skills to use.

Enter ISE

Having just started a family, I was looking for something that I could relate to, and see the value of. Given my background in gaming, learning experiences through gaming, and gaming being the launching point into my career, it made sense to focus my efforts around bringing at least some of this experience to others. Byron offered an opportunity to help him build something that I could be proud and passionate about, and that could bring to the next generation the things that engaged me most when I was young.

Approaching Life

I think we should all be searching for the things that make us passionate. These are the things we can engage in, that we will succeed in the most. The task of really good educators is to help us find passion as a child too. I want to spend my effort in life on helping people find those things that engage them. To find passion for work, and to find passions in life. That is true fulfilment.

Thanks for reading,

Greg