2011

My passion for programming began when I was a freshman in college. Before graduating from high school, I had no clear idea of what course I wanted to pursue. I only took the entrance exam for a two-year Electronics course. Although I placed among the top examinees, I was unable to enroll because the slots had already been filled. As a result, I chose to take a two-year course in Electrical Technology.

SPARK

Surprisingly, this was where my interest in programming started. One of our subjects was English, and we were tasked with writing a research paper. Back in 2011, internet access in our province was limited and mostly relied on mobile data. Using only a basic Java phone, I began researching—and accidentally stumbled upon a forum about free internet. That discovery caught my attention and sparked my curiosity about technology.

WAPSITE

I became deeply interested in how mobile forums, or "wapsites," worked. I started reading tutorials on how to create my own, and in the process, I learned basic coding languages like HTML and PHP. I eventually built my own wapsite where I shared downloadable music, videos, and images. This daily routine of exploring and building things online deepened my love for programming. After completing my first year in Electrical and finishing my English research paper, I decided to shift to a vocational course in Computer Programming at a TESDA school, simply because I didn't yet know about formal IT or degree programs related to programming.