Computer Student Hopes to Live the 'Average American Dream'
Ryan Whitacre
BY TYLER KIMMEL
Ryan Whitacre, a 22-year-old computer information systems major from Scottdale, is used to getting things done with his hands. The California University of Pennyslvania senior seems to live by the “work hard, play hard” philosophy.
He said the computer science industry is “an industry where you’re constantly learning, and I thought it’d be something I wouldn’t get bored with when I got older.”
Whitacre said he wants to get into the field of computer networking because it is more active than programming because one is constantly moving instead of sitting behind one computer screen.
Whitacre has always been interested and intrigued by computers, he said. Part of the reason stems from his father, Russell. Whitacre’s dad is a self-taught computer programmer and Web designer. Russell was a finance and accounting major in college, but computers were his true calling. Whitacre said his father teaches three computer science classes at Pennsylvania Institute of Health and Technology.
Whitacre said his father has always had an interest in computers and that interest grew on him.
His major isn’t the only job Whitacre uses his hands for. He has worked off and on for the last two years with Lantzy Heating and Air doing ductwork. Whitacre said that working in a cold, wet, basement, standing on ladders, and “a lot of heavy lifting” doesn’t bother him.
“I really like the work because it’s hard work, and it’s nice to pick up a trade because when I’m older, I’d like to own my own house and I’ll be able to do some of the work myself, rather than hiring someone else to do it,” Whitacre said.
Besides work and school, Whitacre keeps his hands busy by doing his favorite hobbies. He enjoys lifting weights and playing basketball with his friends. He is also an avid hunter and fisherman and enjoys anything that is active and outdoors. One of his favorite parts of hunting is gutting his deer, he said.
“I start under the neck and cut the skin the whole way down,” Whitacre said. “You can’t cut too deep because you can puncture an organ and spoil the meat. After you cut the guts out, you take it to the butcher. There’s nothing better than deer meat,” he said.
Along with a passion for computers, Whitacre also inherited his passion for basketball from his father.
It’s something I’ve been doing since I was a little kid,” Whitacre said. “My dad and uncle got me into it because they were big basketball fans and I’ve been playing it ever since.”
As for the future, Whitacre isn’t asking for much, just a long and enjoyable life.
“I’d like to work for a respectable company in the computer science industry. I want the average American dream: a wife, kids, and a house,” he said.
Ryan Whitacre, a 22-year-old computer information systems major from Scottdale, is used to getting things done with his hands. The California University of Pennyslvania senior seems to live by the “work hard, play hard” philosophy.
He said the computer science industry is “an industry where you’re constantly learning, and I thought it’d be something I wouldn’t get bored with when I got older.”
Whitacre said he wants to get into the field of computer networking because it is more active than programming because one is constantly moving instead of sitting behind one computer screen.
Whitacre has always been interested and intrigued by computers, he said. Part of the reason stems from his father, Russell. Whitacre’s dad is a self-taught computer programmer and Web designer. Russell was a finance and accounting major in college, but computers were his true calling. Whitacre said his father teaches three computer science classes at Pennsylvania Institute of Health and Technology.
Whitacre said his father has always had an interest in computers and that interest grew on him.
His major isn’t the only job Whitacre uses his hands for. He has worked off and on for the last two years with Lantzy Heating and Air doing ductwork. Whitacre said that working in a cold, wet, basement, standing on ladders, and “a lot of heavy lifting” doesn’t bother him.
“I really like the work because it’s hard work, and it’s nice to pick up a trade because when I’m older, I’d like to own my own house and I’ll be able to do some of the work myself, rather than hiring someone else to do it,” Whitacre said.
Besides work and school, Whitacre keeps his hands busy by doing his favorite hobbies. He enjoys lifting weights and playing basketball with his friends. He is also an avid hunter and fisherman and enjoys anything that is active and outdoors. One of his favorite parts of hunting is gutting his deer, he said.
“I start under the neck and cut the skin the whole way down,” Whitacre said. “You can’t cut too deep because you can puncture an organ and spoil the meat. After you cut the guts out, you take it to the butcher. There’s nothing better than deer meat,” he said.
Along with a passion for computers, Whitacre also inherited his passion for basketball from his father.
It’s something I’ve been doing since I was a little kid,” Whitacre said. “My dad and uncle got me into it because they were big basketball fans and I’ve been playing it ever since.”
As for the future, Whitacre isn’t asking for much, just a long and enjoyable life.
“I’d like to work for a respectable company in the computer science industry. I want the average American dream: a wife, kids, and a house,” he said.