Samantha Turpin
Bio
I received my bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Biology and spent two years working as a Zoo Keeper. My most recent position was at the Reptile House at the St. Louis Zoo. I enjoyed working with my team to create enrichment for the animals, and used critical and logical thinking to solve problems. My greatest accomplishment during my time there was working with my coworkers to create a new enclosure for a group of our animals. It was the first time I was able to create something that I could share with the public, and took great care in helping to make it perfect.
In addition to my love of animals, I am also an avid gamer. I have been playing since the mid 90’s, where I started to make basic games in my spare time. I just started to delve into Unity, a product used to create both 2D and 3D games. Although I enjoyed my job as a Zoo Keeper, I realized I couldn’t see myself doing it as a career for the rest of my life. While I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life, I kept going back to technology. My dad received his degree in Computer Science, and we always had technology in our house. We got our first home computer when home computers were just starting to become commonplace, and since then I’ve always had an interest in figuring out how programs run. That interest pushed me into coding and development.
Q&A
Q: Why did you decide to come to Centriq?
A: I chose Centriq because it gave me a chance to learn a new skill in a short amount of time without having to go through general education classes like you would in a college setting. Also, it was the only training program that would give me the hands-on experience I needed to start a new career.
Q: What class has been your favorite so far?
A: My favorite subject has been JavaScript. I love the style that it adds to HTML pages, and you can make games on your web pages with it, which is what interests me most about it.
Q: What do you hope to do after Centriq?
A: I am hoping to start my career as a developer or software engineer. I am very interested in Boeing’s F-15 flight simulator team, and Mastercard’s engineering group for their credit and debit card applications.
Q: What other hobbies and interests do you have?
A: I am an avid gamer. I love simulation games like The Sims, role-playing games like the Tales series, and everything in between. Aside from video games, I also love to draw, bake, paint, sew, and basically anything that allows me to be creative and have a hand in it. I also like to care for reptiles, and have a small collection of snakes and geckos, which I intend to add more in the future.