My name, in case you haven't already guessed it, is Jason Thomas Stiles.  I grew up in a normal family with a mom, a dad, a sister, and two brothers. During my childhood years, I spent most of my time playing with the local kids and my cousins. I used to build forts all the time and even maintained a couple! Then I got into video/computer games and have been playing those ever since with favorites such as Zelda and Final Fantasy.

My school years were always something different and new. I pretty much grew up with computers and have been fascinated with them more than anything else. They were interesting, they were new, and industry was always coming out with something new and improved each year. In eigth grade, I was challenged by my teachers and school to think about what I wanted to be when I grew up, and I knew what that was right away. I wanted to be a computer programmer.

I used to have a very old Apple computer that had some games and programs on it, but most importantly a program called Basic. It's a programming language, but I didn't know it at the time. I fooled around with it anyway to discover what it does, and I learned how to program various functions in Basic all by myself. I looked at sample codes from Basic games and developed my own game. I called it Tricrystals, but it didn't have any graphics; just keyboard input. It was about a boy who got sucked into this alternate dimension of an island. The object was to find the three crystals that were hidden separately on the island so the boy could return home. Progressing through the game you had to solve riddles and puzzles that I made, and you had to fight enemies. Of course, my programming skills weren't developed that much so the whole game was pretty much decision-based (kind of like multiple-choice questions). It was and became my hobby, and soon it turned into my dream. Now I really knew what I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to create and develop video games, and that went perfectly with my career choice of being a computer programmer. The idea that I could make my stories and dreams into a video game was very intriguing to me.

Soon I found out about the Internet and all it's glory. Information and a wealth of knowledge at my fingertips!    I soon discovered how to develop a website so I made one. At first it was called Jason's Website, then it became Jason's Marvelous Website, and then it developed into the Player Domain. The Player Domain was my pride and joy, and where I spent a lot of my time on the Internet. It was a gaming website that offered news, walkthroughs, reviews, and all kinds of other gaming content. It soon would have several staff members to manage certain areas, and then it evolved into a well-known gaming community.

Then came college. I spent my first two years at Kellogg Community College - a local college about 20 minutes from home. I took all my basic classes there while working a job at Sears. I started off at Sears as a sales associate in Electronics for about a year. Then I transferred into the Loss Prevention department and was there for about 5 years.

Catching shoplifters was the most exciting and intense thing that I have ever experienced in my life. I remember when I caught my first shoplifter and how bad my legs were shaking, and how fast my thoughts were racing. It was a major adrenaline rush. I learned a lot in that job. Watching people on the cameras: how they act, how they steal, and what they buy; it really helped me understand other people more - even some things I wish I didn't know. 

Soon after I joined Loss Prevention, I became the store's Safety Coordinator which was a pivotal part of my time there. My job was to basically assess the store's safety standards and talk about them in safety meetings that I was to lead. Well, that was all simple, but it was boring too. So I spruced it up a bit.  I creatively developed several different ways of motivating our associates to learn about safety and our store's safety standards. Humorous newsletters, eye-catching posters, annual safety festivals (full of events and activities), and fun (yet informational) safety meetings were a few things I made happen. I remember what a huge change my safety program made on our store's associates and management team. When I held my very first safety meeting (back when the program was boring) there were probably 4 associates at most, 5 including me. Then I started the new, fun safety program and gradually saw an increase in attendance to the safety meetings. Meetings grew to nearly 20, and sometimes more, associates (on any given day, that's a good percentage of the people working). I really got people excited about safety, and they showed their respect and excitement by attending my safety meetings, helping out in safety campaigns, and maintaining a safe environment in the store. The results of my hard work led to a decrease in accident claims, an increase in safety awareness and safety meeting attendance, and a safer shopping experience for our customers.  My safety program led my store to the #1 spot on safety in our district. I even got noticed in the company when a District Store Manager saw my newsletters. She was very impressed with it and me, and took a copy of one of the newsletters with her to headquarters to show the company. I was, and still am, very proud of that job.

Along came my first year at Michigan Tech and boy was it a life-changer! I had two years of college at KCC, but here? Wow, lots of change!  It was definitely shocking for me how different it was. Living on my own, new and intense classes, new people, and a new environment altogether (300+ inches of snow a year!) was a big change for me. I definitely struggled through my first year, but it was easier than it would have been. My best friend went to Michigan Tech too and had been here 2 years earlier. He helped me fit in and showed me the ropes. It was easier to adjust with him around. Each semester got better and better, thank God.

After a year at Tech, I joined Blue Marble Enterprise. It was the best thing I could have done for myself and it was incredibly exciting to be a part of.  Blue Marble was a student-run company that could be taken as class-credit, but the point of it was for students to work on real-world problems.  Students are split up into several different projects that they work on throughout the year. Some projects are sponsored by real companies and work with the students to develop new thing to improve our ways of life.  Other projects are internally funded (no sponsor) and work on ideas that the students come up with. It's very exciting. I worked on an internally-funded project for a new and improved type of security system. I started off as just a project engineer, but then I became the Project Manager which I held for three semesters.  I love the whole concept of leadership, and I kind of think I was born for it.    Anyway, I loved leading the project.

The summer after I left Blue Marble, I joined up with Gridalogy (a small software company) to get some needed real-world experience.  Here was a company that I could finally show off my skills to!  I have a passion for Graphical User Interface (GUI) design, and this company let me do just that!  My job was to enhance the GUIs of their grid-computing application.  While working for Gridalogy I came up with a unique GUI concept that I called the Stage.  A Stage has actors and actresses who have ques of when to appear or leave the stage.  I used this concept to develop the GUI design of Gridalogy's grid-computing application.  It worked very well and was easy to understand; I was quite proud of it.

Two more years passed and I graduated from Michigan Tech with a Bachelor's in Computer Science.  Finally, I could now start my life and my career.  Only a few months passed by until I found a great job at a place I didn't think I'd ever work in - a law firm!  What's a Computer Scientist working at a law firm for?  A good question, and an even better answer! 

I have many reasons why I chose to accept the job.  First off, it was a programming position - just in case you thought I left out going through law school.  Secondly, it's a small company and that's what I was looking for - somewhere I could really make a difference and get more experience for my resume.  Third, the company had an appealing location - near Detroit, Michigan.  This was important to me because my family lives in Michigan, and I didn't want to be very far from them.  Lastly, the responsibilities would enhance my skills in an area that I really wanted to develop - web application programming.  So far it's been 7 months and I've made very significant progress. 

My first few weeks on the job was learning about the company, it's processes, and the programs that were left from the company's previous programmer.  The biggest problem I've faced so far is bad code!  The previous programmer had a PhD in Math and programming was just a hobby for him, and his code showed it!  The biggest problems with the code is: it is nearly unreadable, it's inefficient, and it lacks any planning at all - which means the code was just whipped up as if every program was a temporary solution.  So much of my time was, and still is, spent fixing problems and re-writing all the programs.  Most of the programs work so why would I fix what's not broke?  Because the code isn't maintainable and it can't be re-used.  So as I re-write all these programs, I'm doing it in a way that makes the code maintainable and re-usable.  Doing this will prevent re-creating the wheel later on, and allow other programs the ability to take advantage of another program's functionality. 

So that was the first major challenge I've faced, and it has only just begun!  I am now solving the company's information problem.  What's that?  The company lacks a strong online, and offline, presence.  It hasn't been able to effectively organize its knowledge, tools, processes, and information into one place.  Most companies do that by developing an Intranet.  An Intranet, not Internet, is basically an offline website (but more advanced), and by offline I mean it's not connected to the Internet.  It could be, as many Intranets are connected to the Internet, but the point is that only employees of the company can access it.  All of the company's information, knowledge, and vital processes can be maintained or housed on the Intranet.  With the Intranet, much of the company's processes can be automated which can prevent handwork errors, and it increases the efficiency of the company as a whole including its employees.

I've developed one version of the company's Intranet already, and I'm now working on the second version which is 10 times better!  I've really enjoyed working on this application and I'm excited to keep working on it.  I plan to adapt it to be more Internet-friendly and we'll see where life takes me after that!