My views on life and programming have been shaped in part by the stories of my colleagues and bosses.  I have persisted and flourished in the IT field and have become a better person because of the stories they have shared.  It is my hope that what we share today will also help shape for the better the younger generation’s views on life and programming.

Here then is my friend’s story on how she became a programmer.

When I was young I always dreamed of becoming a flight stewardess, wearing those sexy stewardess uniforms I see on TV and traveling to places I could only imagine.  Everybody knows what it takes to be one: At least 5’3” tall (check!), witty (check!), at least presentable if not beautiful (uh-um…), people person (cross out!) and not afraid of heights (scratch!).  I’m sure the list goes on and on but I need to stop - 2 out of 5 was not an impressive ratio.

Disappointed but still determined, I moved to the next one on the list, Lawyer.  This was short-lived because when I found out that this job involves debate, discussion, deliberation, constant argument, defending someone you don’t even know and not to mention good lawyers being blown up to bits and pieces, aha, sayonara Law School. 

Teacher was next in line.  Okay, whom am I kidding?  I salute them and always will for their vocation is most honorable, I think.   But just looking at how my classmates treated our teachers, I didn’t want to join their club.  All right, so I am not a total angel but at least I had discretion when doing mischief.

Being a nurse came to mind but the thought of seeing blood frightens me so medical professions are out of the question.  In my mind, I jumped from one career to another: writer, reporter, athlete, dancer and so on and so on.  And that was too much even for an 11-year old like me, back then.  I spent too much time thinking about it that I forgot that I was a kid and needed an active life to survive the future.  I blame that lady who visited our school.  I think she worked in the government but can’t exactly remember her name and position.  Anyway, she said that kids are the hope of the nation…blah-blah-blah… that even at a young age we should already decide what career to have for a smoother path to a successful future.  Well, so far, all it was giving me was a successful headache.

Our homeroom teacher assigned us to come up with an essay with a topic of what we wanted to be when we grow up.  Confused and dazed by all the scratched items in my list, I finally settled on being a homemaker.  I can still remember the song ‘Pink and white, led by day and night as a symbol of our youth…Future homemakers of the Philippines…’

Too bad, I was not called to read my essay in front of the classroom.  I should have given them the greatest rendition of the homemakers’ official song.

After that year, I totally forgot my career list and concentrated on a more pressing matter - the multiplication table.  I would soon be in high school and needed to enhance my weak spots.  Years passed and I lived freely without any care about my future.  But, for most of us, sooner or later, we have to face the inevitable…college.  Since my old career list was already at the bottom of Smokey Mountain, I created another one, remembering the ones that I didn’t like but with nothing new to add.

NCEE came and went and I was still undecided.  My new career list was still blank like my future.  Afraid that my school friends would leave me behind, I enrolled in every course they enrolled in but I limited myself to 4-year courses.  It looked like my friends themselves were not set.  My father suggested that I take Pharmacy.  I cringed.  I did not want to memorize all those medicine layman and scientific names and most of all decipher those scratches called prescriptions.  Isn’t it amazing that pharmacists and MDs understand each other like the Elves race that have their own form of writing that only they can write and understand?  Uh-oh, I hope my doctor is not reading this.

With no time to spare I went along with friends to the Engineering and Technology department of a university.  We got separated because most of my male friends went to CompE, CE, EE, ECE, IE and all those courses ending with ‘E’ when abbreviated.  Some even went to architecture.  A few went to Education and Nursing.  Since I promised myself no courses more than 4 years, I found myself lining up in Computer Science.  With my credentials neatly placed in a brown envelope, I was asking myself if I made the right decision.  This could make or break me.

I thought I would like being in front of a computer since I was able to successfully create a blinking image of Santa Clause from BASIC language during my junior year high elective.  And I also took to account the advices of my previous teachers like this one:  “When choosing a vocation, choose something that you have difficulty with that you think is worthwhile improving. It will help you face it head on and eventually become good at it if not expert.” or something to that effect.  That was Math for me.  They said that CS is like plunging into a sea of numbers and logical thinking: algebra, math analysis 1,2 & 3, trigonometry, numeric & math methods, probability & statistics, summation & integration.  Let us not forget the mathematical symbols and tons and tons of equations, shall we?

Anyway, I was rejected.  They said that my NCEE grade and my overall academic average didn’t meet their requirements.  Along with friends that didn’t make it as well, we headed to the Arts and Science department with our heads bowed down.  I decided to take up accountancy.  It involves lot of numbers, too, doesn’t it?

The head of accountancy had already signed my enrollment form when we heard that the NCEE and average grade requirements for CS had been lowered.  At first I ignored it since it was already set in my mind that I will be an accountant, but when I realized that all of my friends transferred to CS, I ran after them to the E&T department.  I was afraid to start my freshman year with total strangers.  We all passed this time.

Assembly was at the top of my wish-to-disappear list and it still is.  I enjoyed Pascal, C and COBOL.  I liked COBOL maybe because it was a little bit closer to my first love, BASIC.  The coolest part was that it was during my 2-semester COBOL language subject that my logic, which I didn’t know I had, was enhanced tremendously.  Even from the start, I knew that COBOL would be like a piece of cake for me.  It was the only subject where I did my case studies independently - from flowchart to report/screen mapping to Pseudocode to actual coding of the program to testing and debugging.  Everybody said that COBOL would be disappearing soon so the rest of my classmates were wondering why we had 2 COBOL semesters in our curriculum.  Well, I was not complaining since it was the only subject that I excelled in.  Those 2 semesters definitely boosted my over-all average.

Sure enough, after college, my first job was as a COBOL programmer supporting a credit card system for an international bank.  How I tripped upon that opportunity is another story.

To be or not to be, that was my question.  It was to be, I guess.

By Veroordeeld Periwinkle of IWL.  IWL stands for Independent Women’s League.  She’s one of the 4 founding members.  It was founded for women who believe that singleness does not mean loneliness.  Yep, correct, she’s still single.  The IWL Official website will be available soon for those interested to join the league.  She was also a former Secretary of Bandang Tunog-Lata Batch ’92.  Send your comments to VPeriwinkle@fido.ca