BRANDON SMITH THE FIRST BLACK BELT

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.