Campbell

Sean Miguel Campbell

With experience in both frontend and backend development, my enjoyment in software development is rooted from my love for problem solving, expressing creativity, and creating value for others.

My roots begin in a rural town called Bearden, Arkansas. Growing up in a small town, I was raised in a quite close-knit environment, where being part of a team held a significant meaning. With this, I grew up alongside many classmates playing football, participating in community service, and competing in collaborative events concerning Engineering, Economics, and Civics. The biggest takeaway I have from these experiences, is that a team functions as a system where every piece holds a vital role for it to function properly. As a piece of that system, this takeaway has conditioned me to ask questions when I am unsure and falling behind and to help and bolster others. When we all get better, everything moves forward, so I strive to the best of my ability to learn/promote new ideas that can make me and others better.

What got me into Computer Programming

One day I was in my fifth-period Keyboarding class (you know the one where you learn the 'right' way to type), and I was doing my assignment. I absolutely hated that class because I knew that my carrer would not involve me being in front of a keyboard and monitor every day, and it was very boring. My school was experimenting to see if students wanted to try out coding, and I was asked if I wanted to try the new thing out in exchange for being excused from the assignment. (uh....yeah I do). It was then and there, on that Khan Academy Javascript course, that I found a new thing I wanted to explore. Figuring things out, being experimental, and getting creative were the perfect formula for allowing my extensive imagination and love for problem solving thrive together.

My interest in Software Engineering

I just wanted to use my creativity to make games. Game development was all I wanted to do up to my Senior year of high school. Our football season had ended and there were a couple of senior teammates (including myself) that wanted to lift in the offseason but were now out of the athletic program. We wanted to safely max out and keep a sheet to do so, but were no longer in presence of coaches nor were provided sheets.

This sparked an idea: create an app to solve our problem. I created a program (that I called DigiCoach) that would calculate one's theoretical one-rep-max, and create a weekly sheet set to work towards that max. This was the first application that I had developed on my own that was soley for utility. Using that app and seeing how it helped my friends changed my course for where I wanted to go with my love for programming. Now, I wanted to set my career to provide value and utlity for others.

College and Beyond

With a new fire to begin on projects, I kicked off my freshman year with the McMillon Innovation Studio, where I assisted in conducting research around telehealth in rural areas, and creating a prototype for locating telehealth providers. My first year as a college student saw the wake of COVID-19 pandemic, where I began doing classes and projects exclusively remote. In my Sophomore year, I started work on ReZerve, a startup project lead by a student who was inspired to create a platform for stylists to book appointments and track their performance in the pandemic. This introduced me into utilizing web frameworks and backend interfaces, such as Stripe's payment API, and was my greatest learning curve thus far. I worked alongside a university Capstone team and continued as a developer until we launched it for live use.

During this time, I also pursued a potential role in education. In my freshman year, I joined the UAteach (now STEM Education) program and began practicum teaching in Computer Science classrooms. Prior to Arkansas's Computer Science inititaive, I experienced a limiting curriculum in Computer Science and developed a desire to take part in helping promote computer science to aspiring students. In my sophomore year, I became treasurer of the STEM Education RSO, and eventually Vice-President in my junior year.

Going into my later years of college, I worked alongside a team of Software Engineering students to recreate a simulation of Photon, one of the first commercial lasertag programs, with an emphasis on agile methodology. During college, I was hired on as an Applications Development Intern where I began to develop into a Full-Stack Developer. In my senior year of college, I worked in a Capstone team alongside the Data Science Department to create a room scheduling application for students enrolled in the data science program.

In the Spring of 2023, I obtained my Minor in Stem Education. In May 2024, I graduated from the University of Arkansas with a B.S. in Computer Science.