Boneless w/ Christian Grey

We caught up with Christian Grey, an incoming freshman who placed second in our recent Game Jam. At this event,  current students, prospective students, and alumni were invited to create a video game in under 60 hours while incorporating a limitation that everyone must implement. Read on to learn more about how Christian’s winning entry was created. 

What’s your hometown?

I live in IL. I moved in the week before the Game Jam started.

What sparked your interest in game development?

My interest in game development started when I began learning to code because it was the only thing I thought to create. I’ve always come back to it since I get to have fun making things that other people have fun with. My continuing project is Glap.RS, a 2D modular spacecraft game.

Have you been able to take any computer science courses in high school? If so, which ones? If not, how have you taught yourself about programming?

My introduction to computer science was quite obscure. When I was in first grade, I discovered and reassembled a Windows 95 desktop that was my parents’ wedding gift. I realized that since I was the only one that knew how to operate it, I didn’t have to share it with my three younger siblings. I spent probably a bit more than the recommended amount of time with it. My introduction to programming was accidentally opening the Macro Editor in Microsoft Word. MS Word allows you to record your actions and save them as a Macro for repetitive use, but it does this by automatically generating code in the VBA language. The computer was too old to use Wi-Fi and our family computer was still off limits, so I essentially brute-forced my way to understanding code by recording macros and looking at the code they made over and over again.

I’ve largely kept the same learning style since: pull up the official tutorial, read some relevant portions, and then get my hands dirty with some random project. At IMSA, my high school, I’ve had the opportunity to take Microcontroller Applications and Machine Learning. I’ve also been participating in FTC Robotics since 9th grade (go 17576 TITANS!!!). I’ve really enjoyed getting to learn and code beyond just standard software.

How did you hear about Neumont?

Your bright yellow envelope with simplified iconographic glory arrived in my mail. 

What inspired you to participate in Neumont’s Game Jam?

Those of us in the class of 2025 have a Discord we all chat in. With moving to a new house and my summer internship, I hadn’t really had the time to interact very much. I saw the Game Jam as a way to block off time to involve myself with the Neumont community. It was a partial success, but after three days of nonstop coding I took about six days of nonstop nothing, so I didn’t get to do as much review of other’s games as I would have wished.

What was the most challenging aspect of creating your game, Boneless?

The most challenging aspect for me was not using a game engine. I didn’t use a game engine simply because I’ve never learned a game engine! I’ve also never been in a crunch scenario like this, and I figured out pretty quickly that time spent reinventing things that could have been provided to me is time spent not fixing bugs and adding more content.

Excerpt from the Game Jam award ceremony.

How did you feel when you found out Boneless took second place as a high school student competing against current college students?

When Ryder messaged me saying I was in the top five, I thought “Awesome I somehow managed to get #5!” Boy was I surprised! I was actually feeling quite bad about my performance since there were four more levels that were discarded after I made an error I couldn’t revert. After I was announced as the second place winner and looked at how I scored on the Itch website, I realized that what I had managed to put out worked, felt decently complete, and showcased the mechanics well. I must thank my two brothers for that – Aaron for animating the character for me and Gavin for creating the background music, as I’m sure both of those helped immensely with the reviews to the game. It felt awesome. My family went out to dinner to celebrate afterward, and now I have something to my name when I arrive on campus next year 😉.

Which game was your favorite game (excluding your creation)?

No See Demons. It tied for fifth place. I tried to make the curse in my game an impediment – something that would force you to plan your actions and compensate for it. Their blinding mechanic does exactly that: you need to make sure that wherever you go you’ll have access to light in a reasonable amount of time, otherwise you end up waiting for your vision to recover anxiously hoping a creature doesn’t jump you in your unaware state.

What degree do you plan to pursue?

I’m not sure, and that’s why Neumont stood out to me! I’m looking forward to getting to try all of the degree tracks freshman year.

What’s your dream job post-graduation?

Similar to above ^. If I had to choose right now, it would either be working on decentralized software or augmented/mixed reality.

Star Wars or Star Trek?

Star Trek. To clarify, I’m not against Star Wars, I’ve seen some and it’s all been good, but I’m magnitudes more interested in the concepts and plots of Star Trek.

Marvel or DC?

Neither. I think I have yet to watch a Marvel or DC focused movie. I don’t really plan on it either.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

BRANDON SMITH THE FIRST BLACK BELT

Recently, we caught up with Brandon Smith, an incoming freshman and the first student to earn the Code Dojo black belt. In the Dojo, students solve a set of progressively difficult challenges, beginning with the Binary Challenge and ending with the Python Challenge. Read on to learn more about how Brandon became interested in computer science.

What’s your hometown?

I was born and have lived my whole life in Cedarville, AR, a very small town about 30 minutes north of Fort Smith.

What sparked your interest in computer science?

I always dreamed of being in the video game field, be it as a game tester or a game designer. Once I took an AP Computer Science Principles class in my senior year, I knew CS was for me.

What other computer science courses did you take in high school?

Beyond my AP CSP class, my school also offered AP Computer Science Applications, but I didn’t get to take it. My CSP teacher gave me a book called “Coding the Matrix” that I’ve been learning from for the past few weeks.

How did you hear about Neumont?

From what I remember, I looked up “best Computer Science schools in the US”, scrolled through a few, and happened upon Neumont. I applied to several of the schools on the list, but none of them seemed as promising as Neumont.

What did you think of the challenges?

The Code Dojo challenges were really fun, and a great way to show off the different skills and concepts that will be covered at Neumont. They also pulled me in, because they were well-designed and had a bit of a personal touch compared to the lifeless admission processes of other schools.

Which challenge was your favorite?

I don’t think any challenge could beat the final one. I learned Python throughout my senior year, so I was super excited for the challenge to drop. In fact, I stayed up and had replit.com open in another tab at 1:00 AM (the time that it dropped in my time zone).

Which challenge was the most difficult?

The most difficult challenge was probably the Hacking Challenge, as I had never worked with Wireshark or PCAP files or anything like that. Honestly, it’s a wonder I got through it on the first try.

Did you utilize the Discord server for help?

I don’t believe I did, but I kept it in mind. The Discord server is a very welcoming place, and I knew I could get help from them at any point.

Did you find yourself helping others in Discord?

I didn’t, as many problems people had been solved before I got to them. People in the server were very quick to help anyone in need.

What degree do you plan to pursue?

As mentioned before, I’m interested in the video game field, so I plan to pursue the Software & Game Development degree. However, I’ve heard it’s sometimes hard to get a job in that field because it’s so popular, so I’m not against a general CS degree.

What’s your dream job post-graduation?

I’d like to work for Nintendo, programming games. The immediate problem, of course, is that I don’t speak Japanese. Within the United States, I’d be content to work for a child company of Nintendo.

GOODBYE PROFESSOR KREBS

Professor Josh Krebs is known on Neumont’s campus for a multitude of reasons, including his infectious energy, love of llamas, and most importantly, his unparalleled passion for guiding and inspiring our students. For the past 13 years, he’s been an integral part of our community–first as a student, then as an instructor.

Josh Krebs

As a young kid living in California, Josh had a knack for gadgets and electronics. It was a mere hobby until his first job as a data analyst that he realized he could make a career out of his love of computer science. This led to his big leap of leaving California and moving his family to Utah in 2008 to attend Neumont College of Computer Science. Josh explained there were no other colleges that met his educational aspirations; a curriculum teaching current technologies, a hands-on academic model, and a structure allowing him to graduate in just three years.

Josh Krebs presenting at a recruitment event.

Josh’s appetite for tech carried him through to graduation after which he began working at Navitaire Inc. specializing in both front-end and back-end development. Shortly thereafter he began teaching as an adjunct professor at Neumont, then quickly transitioned to teaching full-time. He said the option to transition from working in industry to being a full-time faculty member was an easy decision to make because, “Neumont promotes a genuinely positive and healthy community environment. They know how to teach because they truly understand what it takes to learn and are able to produce graduates who know how to solve problems independently.”

Over the course of his nine-year teaching career, Josh taught courses predominantly in the computer science degree path, but just as Neumont’s curriculum evolved, so did he. Josh was able to seamlessly branch out and teach courses in both web and game development as well. He was also well known for his compassion and advocacy towards the student body. He went on to say, “The most rewarding thing about teaching at Neumont was watching young adults discover the truth of their potential. Watching another person grow and evolve right before your eyes provides a depth of fulfillment I've rarely found anywhere else.”

Josh Krebs meeting his first llama on campus.

While he will always be commended for his charisma in the classroom, his students won’t forget his support of making a llama Neumont’s mascot. The origin of our beloved llama dates back to 2009 when Neumont held a poll to select a mascot. Our clever students took it upon themselves to add a write-in option: a llama. This prank ignited the underground llama movement on campus where Josh continually kept the topic buzzing over a decade later. Today, our students have welcomed a llama as their unofficial mascot.

Josh Krebs at Commencement 2019.

Part of Neumont’s successful formula is hiring instructors who have been in the roles our students aspire to fill. Industry experience is key to teaching relevant practices, which is why Josh made the decision to go back into industry. He recently accepted a position as a software engineer with Artium Technologies in Silicon Valley.

Professor Josh Krebs will always be a member of the Neumont family and sorely missed in our community.  His teachings truly embodied our mission statement: Improving lives through education, and we know he will excel in his next chapter.

UNIFIED STUDENT GOVERNMENT

This week in our ongoing club series, we’re featuring Neumont’s Unified Student Government, A.K.A. USG. Read on to learn how this influential club governs and what they have planned for the future from Club President, Carter Wilde.

Carter Wilde

Carter is a Utah native who’s currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Software Engineering. He chose to follow in his dad’s footsteps, a Neumont College alum, making Carter a Neumont legacy. Carter went on to share that his dad is still working in tech as a Senior Security Software Engineer at Pluralsight.

Carter was inspired to join USG to uphold the lively student culture he recalls his father describing from his Neumont days. He went on to say, “Neumont provides a community that has a large range of people from different backgrounds and cultures.” Realizing that 73% of our student body is from outside of Utah, Carter recognized it would take someone with a well-rounded approach to lead a group of students from all walks of life, and he was ready for the challenge. After serving as Historian in USG for three quarters, Carter was elected President. He loves his current role because it gives him the opportunity to personally get to know students, therefore helping him make well-informed decisions on their behalf.

USG Recruitment Event

USG’s purpose on campus is to provide a method of communication to the school on behalf of the students and to maintain student welfare. Their mission statement is, “USG provides an open forum for dialogue and a voice for student opinions concerning the traditions, ideas, and affairs of Neumont College of Computer Science; to promote high standards of conduct; to carry out activities which maintain the quality of campus life; to promote and defend the general student welfare, and to afford students the opportunity to participate in the managing of their own affairs.”

USG Winter Quarter Open Election

The club currently has seven members–four executives and three senators. They meet weekly for advisor recaps and to discuss student initiatives like club proposals and budget requests. Socially they host public events for students throughout the school year such as fondue night, hiking outings, an annual blood drive, and ice cream socials. In the future the club is hoping to host larger gatherings on and off campus when it’s safer to meet in large groups. Until then, Carter will continue meeting with students one-on-one to discuss their experiences, likes, dislikes, and ideas for the future of Neumont.

Neumont’s Unified Student Government holds quarterly elections, and students can join year-round. For election information and additional details about the club, please refer to the Club Advisor, Lacy Clawson in the Student Affairs Office.

GAME GURUS

While the last year has brought nothing but curve balls and challenged our usual ways, one thing has stayed constant: our thriving student culture. Neumont’s student-run clubs have consistently given our student body activities to look forward to, provided new ways of connecting with their peers, and allowing everyone the chance to have some fun–because what is college without relaxing and enjoying yourself sometimes? In our ongoing club series, we’re highlighting the Game Gurus and what their Club President, Alex McDowell, has planned for the coming year.

Alex McDowell

Alex has a passion for gaming stemming all the way back to her childhood. The Texas native has been playing video games as long as she can remember and has been hooked on Super Smash Bros. Brawl since it debuted in 2008. Her younger brother has special needs and playing video games together while growing up was their way of bonding and communicating. Her appreciation for gaming then fueled her desire to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Software & Game Development at Neumont and she intends to one day create video games specifically for children with special needs. It’s fitting that today she’s now president of one our gaming clubs on campus.

Upon starting at Neumont in 2019, Alex immersed herself in student life by attending school events and quickly began helping the already established Game Gurus club with event planning and hosting. When the role of president became available, she leapt at the position and has been leading the club since 2020.

FReX gaming event

Alex’s dorm room gaming setup

Today, Game Gurus has 85+ members and is a popular club amongst students on campus. The club hosts quarterly tournaments playing Super Smash Bros. Ultimate–a Neumont favorite–and is currently preparing for their annual gaming tournament during our upcoming FReX event. In addition, the club puts on single-game playing sessions, centered around the theme of that week’s game. Presently, Game Gurus hosts their quarterly gaming events virtually so club members and the student body can still play together, but from the comfort and safety of their own dorms.

When asked about the club’s objective within our Neumont community, Alex said, “Our club’s purpose is to bring together students who enjoy any type of gaming, creating events focused on gaming, and providing students options for unwinding from the stress of school.”

Neumont’s Bunker

Prior to the pandemic and social-distancing guidelines, the Game Gurus played in and managed Neumont’s Bunker–our basement vault-like room featuring multiple monitors, gaming consoles, couches, and tables. Although it’s currently closed due to COVID guidelines, this was most often where the club would gather for events as well as daily gaming sessions. In the future when the Bunker is open again, Alex says the club will be allocating funding to make improvements to the furniture and available tech to ensure the Bunker remains a fun place for students to enjoy on campus.  

If you’re curious about joining Game Gurus, Alex ensures newcomers, “The club has a very welcoming and kind community with students who are super willing to help when we have events. I’ve also been introduced to some rather interesting and fun games since I’ve joined and it’s a nice stress reliever throughout some of the stresses of everyday life.”

A PATH TO CYBER SECURITY

We recently had the pleasure of catching up with Neumont alum, Bryson Chamberlain (2019 graduate), who is currently an employee of global communication solutions and services company, Motorola Solutions, on their cyber security Threat Response team. Read on to learn what led to his career in cyber security following graduation.

Bryson Chamberlain

As a fifth grader, Bryson was interested in electricity and building circuits during science labs. He collected various electronic parts from family members and wanted to become an electrician. When he got into high school, Bryson began working with computers and built his first PC. Being from a small town in Utah, Bryson didn’t have access to many computer science courses and started to teach himself by visiting his local library to read computer science books. He also found online courses to take outside of his regular schoolwork to learn as much as he could. Since then, his passion for tech has snowballed.

In his senior year of high school, Bryson intended to attend a state school, but fortunately came across Neumont College. He was drawn to the fast-paced curriculum and technical slant that comes with our general elective courses. Within his first week, he knew he wanted to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Information Systems.

Bryson with family at our 2019 Commencement ceremony

During his time at Neumont, Bryson was mentored by the former Chair of the Information Systems degree, Orrian Rich–who recently returned to working in industry. “He cared that we learned what we needed to, and he made it fun to learn, (except PCI compliance, I don’t think anyone can make that fun to learn),” recalled Bryson.  

Bryson and Neumont College President Dr. Aaron Reed at our 2019 Commencement ceremony

In his senior year he began his Enterprise Project with Motorola Solutions, who he previously had worked with at their help desk throughout college. Bryson was thrilled to work in a different department and expand his experience. Prior to his time with Motorola, Bryson intended to become a network engineer or network admin because of his love of building networks and using VMware for virtual environments. However, after taking the security course, Hacking, Forensics, and Countermeasures, in his last quarter, he was hooked and wanted to pursue a career in cyber security. He used the College’s voucher to take the CompTIA Security+ certification and passed. Following graduation, he accepted a position with Motorola Solutions as a Cyber Analyst II/Cyber Defense Professional on their Threat Response team.

Bryson with family at our 2019 Commencement Ceremony

At Neumont, “the biggest thing you are going to learn, is how to learn. Whether it’s from a professor or teaching yourself, you will gain the building blocks for both,” said Bryson reflecting on his time at Neumont. We’re thrilled Bryson’s time here led him to his true passion and our curriculum prepared him for a successful career in cyber security. We look forward to seeing his future successes!

PING PONG CLUB

The cornerstone of Neumont’s culture resides in our student clubs. As part of our ongoing club series, we’re featuring Neumont’s prominent Ping Pong Club.

Ping Pong Club logo

The club was established in 2018 by Neumont senior, Searjasub Lopez (Sear). After playing for a decade prior, he wanted to bring his favorite sport to our campus. His club then installed a ping pong table in The Commons on campus and began holding club-only and open tournaments to the student body. Over the last couple years, Sear has also secured two additional tables as the club’s membership grew. Today, the Ping Pong Club has 25 members.

Club members hanging out and playing together (2020)

The eclectic club has members from all different skill levels and Sear encourages anyone to join, regardless of prior experience. With 10 years of experience himself, he loves not only leading the club but acting as a teacher for anyone wanting to learn strategy, skill, and the structure of the game.

Spring tournament winner, Kagen Fontenot

Ping Pong Club hosts quarterly tournaments on campus, typically on the weekends as to not interfere with class schedules. The last tournament held in spring of 2020–prior to the COVID-19 pandemic–was open to the student body and played round-robin style, best out of three rounds. The entire tournament was livestreamed on Neumont’s Twitch accompanied by commentary from two students.

In addition to open tournament play, members have their own exclusive on-going tournament they participate in. Members pick up these tournament games whenever they can between classes, weekends, or any free time when they’re on campus.

Ping Pong Club’s mission statement is, “The Neumont Ping Pong Club was established for anyone who enjoys ping pong, wants to play with peers, and better their skills. In addition, the club wants to provide a means to allow the student body to take a break from school and focus on something else for short intervals.”

Ping Pong Club’s game table in The Commons

In the future once the pandemic has passed, Sear says he looks forward to hosting a tournament open to the student body.

If you’re a current student and interested in starting your own club, contact Nine Thorpe in the Student Affairs Department, nthorpe@neumont.edu.

NEUMONT STUDENTS WIN HACKING COMPETITION

Students attending Neumont College not only impress with their ingenuity in the classroom but shine as they apply what they’ve learned to coding competitions. In October of 2020, four Neumont students participated in the University of Utah’s hackathon, HackTheU. Neumont senior, Clayton Schrumpf, explains how he and his team came to join this competition, their takeaways, and what led to their victory in one category.

Clayton Schrumpf

Clayton came to Neumont College from St. Peter, Minnesota in 2018. While pursuing his bachelor’s degree in Web Design & Development, his interest was piqued to enter his first coding competition in 2019. Upon preparing for that competition, he formed a team of four with Neumont students Zane Slocum, Joshua Van Antwerp, and Eric Young. It was at that competition they were informed of another hacking event called HackTheU. They then entered in their second hacking competition. Clayton described the 2019 HackTheU as a “blast” and the team decided to keep working together and enter the same competition in 2020.

Fast forward to October 2020 and HackTheU was no longer able to hold their international event in-person in the wake of COVID-19 and opted for a strictly virtual version. Two weeks prior to the competition, registrants were provided with six categories they could create their project around but didn’t receive requirements or expectations until the opening ceremony on the first day of the event. Of the 216 registrants from all over the world, each team was tasked with creating an application within 48 hours that filled the requirements for one or more of the previously shared categories.

Clayton Schrumpf and teammate, Eric Young

After careful review, Clayton’s team opted to pursue the Galileo Financial Technologies–digital banking solutions–challenge in which contestants had to utilize Galileo’s Financial API to create an application for users to digitally transfer money. Since they attended the 2019 competition, they had insight to what the Galileo challenge would entail that year and felt confident in their abilities come go time. They quickly decided to divide and conquer responsibilities on their project, BudgetBuddy. Clayton made a Golang API back-end that interfaced with their MongoDB database and the Galileo Instant API, Zane and Joshua connected the API to the Alexa Application, and lastly Eric handled the front-end aspect creating the main webpage and user navigation. They also went above and beyond project requirements by polishing the customer experience, giving the user the opportunity to create an account profile.

View the Galileo’s Financial API challenge winning submission, BudgetBuddy:

BudgetBuddy went on to win the Galileo API Competition and each team member was awarded with an Oculus Quest 2 VR headset. Reflecting back on their success, Clayton described how his Neumont education helped his team succeed saying, “Neumont’s curriculum taught us to be adaptable and pivot on a dime when programming in unfamiliar territory.” Prior to graduation this summer, Clayton and his group intend to compete in at least one or two more coding competitions. We look forward to seeing what more Clayton and his teammates will go on to achieve this year.