About Me

Hello World! Link to heading

Greetings! I’m Juan, an avid autodidact who has always found joy in self-learning. Whether it’s mastering the art of cooking, playing musical instruments like the guitar and bass, or diving into the world of programming, I thrive on teaching myself new skills. Fortunately, we live in an era where tutorials and books make the vast expanse of human knowledge accessible online.

Birth and Beginnings Link to heading

My life journey began in 1989, in a hospital in the Dominican Republic. A few months after being born, I found myself in the vibrant city of New York, settling in the South Bronx. I attended P.S. 130 for grades one through five. Thriving in math and science during my school years, I graduated as valedictorian from MS 52 (now MS 302) in 2004, setting the stage for my academic path. I applied for and was accepted to a small high school, the Foreign Language Academy of Global Studies which used to occupy half of the third floor of the X754 J. M. Rapport School Career Development building located at 470 Jackson Avenue. I graduated F.L.A.G.S high school in 2007, though the school itself closed a few years after that.

Educational Adventures Link to heading

High school at FLAGS (Foreign Language Academy of Global Studies) brought forth a newfound passion for computers. Despite grappling with advanced math classes, I founded a rock band, Unholy Thirst, and explored various extracurricular activities, including serving as student body president in my junior year. Fluent in French, Spanish, and English, I decided to pursue a computer science career, leading me to apply to St. John’s University.

Adapting to Challenges Link to heading

Financial hurdles led to my departure after my Computer Science first semester at the College of Professional Studies at St. John’s University in Queens, but I don’t let setbacks define me. Armed with determination, I delved into self-teaching, landing a PHP web developer role at LMG digitalMedia within six months. Over the years, my skills expanded to encompass PHP, Python, HTML/CSS/JS, MySQL, and more.

Professional Odyssey Link to heading

My journey continued at Touro College, Borderfree (acquired by Pitney Bowes), and Shutterstock, among others - contributing to web infrastructure redevelopment and honing my skills in architecture, development, maintenance, and more.

Tinkering Passion Link to heading

Beyond code, I find joy in tinkering with electronics, unraveling their mysteries, and putting them back together. I also enjoy studying programming languages (esoteric and otherwise), math, space, phsysics, biology - you could say the sciences in general, and many other topics.

In the tapestry of life, the journey is marked by challenges, triumphs, and the joy of passing on knowledge.

Finis amoris sed non vitae.