Software Engineer · Tampa, FL
From EMT to Software Engineering
I'm Chris — a software engineer with a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of South Florida. My path here wasn't a straight line: I spent years as an EMT on the front lines of the Covid pandemic before pivoting to tech. That experience taught me how to stay sharp under pressure, think clearly through complexity, and care deeply about the people I'm building for.
Fortune 100
Current Employer
B.S. CS
Univ. of South Florida
4+ yrs
Coding Experience
My Journey
The road that brought me here — in reverse chronological order.
I am currently working as a software engineer at a Fortune 100 company, building production systems that serve millions of users.
I attended the University of South Florida, earning my Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. These two years deepened my understanding of the theory that underpins modern software — algorithms, data structures, systems design — and gave me the vocabulary to tackle hard problems with rigor.
I was selected for two competitive scholarship programs: the NSF S-STEM initiative and Flit-Gap. Both connected me with a network of STEM peers, faculty mentors, and alumni — and in 2023, I had the opportunity to represent USF at the SHPE National Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The Covid pandemic was at its peak. I was working full-time as an EMT at Sarasota Memorial Hospital, including shifts in the Covid ICU during the Delta wave. I saw the human cost of the crisis up close — and it forced me to honestly reconsider whether medicine was the right long-term path.
While still working full-time, I completed my Associate of Arts at the State College of Florida. Then I took a deliberate detour: a one-year web development program. I didn't want to commit to a four-year degree in something I hadn't tried yet. As it turned out, I loved it — and by fall 2022, I had transferred to USF.
Shortly after high school, I started working on an ambulance as an EMT and then relocated from Indiana to Florida in late 2016. To make ends meet while studying for my national licensure exam, I worked as a movie theater usher, a table busser, and a food runner — sometimes holding multiple jobs at once.
That period of figuring it out on my own — in a new state, from scratch — gave me a resilience and adaptability I still rely on today.
I grew up in Lafayette, Indiana and graduated from Jefferson High School in 2016. Through a dual-enrollment program, I earned my EMT certification at 18 — the decision that would set the next chapter of my life in motion.
Everyone in that EMT graduation photo went on to become a licensed paramedic in Indiana. They are still out there saving lives, and I could not be more proud to call them friends.