My name is Trevor - also known as Syndr online - an I'm currently a Senior in college. I'm working to be an HPC systems engineer, looking to have the means to build and maintain some of the largest and most influential computers of our time. Admittedly, I still have a long way to go, seeing as the broader industry of technology is constantly changing, always evolving, and is quick to move to the next shiniest thing.
In an effort to stay on top of things, I've made sure to work in places where I can cultivate an ever-expanding skillset. Since 2023, I've both worked full-time and contracted at Conceptual Systems Corporation. There, I learned the fundamentals of computer networking in a very practical sense. I was often tasked with assisting with grunt-work: things like initiating operating system deployments, checking items into inventory, making long drives to replace printers, and using power tools to install networking infrastructure.
In between the overnight jobs and on-site physical labor, I asked questions and learned all I can about the IT side of things. What is an NVR and what is it for? What kind of things are ran on these in-house servers? What exactly does our custom scrap software do that helps our customers?
That Summer while I was working there, I wound up taking home a couple to-be-scrapped Dell Optiplex machines with a simple question in mind: how hard would it be to run my own server? This seemingly innocuous question lead to a spiral of internet searches that would occupy all of my free time for the next month. With no prior knowledge of Linux I wound up building my first Ubuntu-based server... for Minecraft.
I began college at Tennessee Tech University in the Fall of 2023. Previously, I attended of the the college's Spring Showcase events. It was during this event where I realized this college met all my criteria for what I wanted for my higher education: a campus with a moderate size, an institution that offered in-state tuition, a marching band, and - most importantly - competent technical programs. My goal for college wasn't just to say I had a degree, rather it was to learn skills I never would have been able to learn outside of a structured classroom setting.
I'm sure many people know how the first year of college normally goes, so I'll just hit some highlights:
In the Fall of 2024, I was approached by one of my previous classmates about position on-campus. See, her job was to help people all over campus get acquainted with the in-house HPC cluster. She told me I would make a good fit for her position once she graduates that semester. One thing lead to another, and that very next semester, I was hired as a student Research Computing and Data Facilitator!
What is Research Computing and Data and how do you facilitate it? I'm glad you asked, dear reader! Research Computing is a broad term that generalizes a lot more facets than just "use a bigger computer." A good way to describe the breadth of this position's responsibilities are the Five CaRCC Facings. I won't elaborate a ton on what those are, but know that there is more of a variety to a position such as this than what it at first seems.
With this new role, some things I have been able to do include:
Remember I mentioned that student who recently graduated? Well it turns out she never really left. Instead, she managed to get hired full-time doing the same job as before! As if that wasn't cool enough, it was around this time when my boss was officially promoted to the Director of Research Computing and Data! It goes without saying that I was (and still am) surrounded by very special people. Really, though, it wouldn't be an understatement to meeting these people changed the course of my life.
I really like retro video games. I consider myself a little bit of a collector, even. Video games from 20 to 30 years ago I feel aren't just crummy, old pieces of plastic. Instead, I think they do a lot to express ideas and creativity that just isn't present in much modern media. It was a time where much less of the industry figured itself out, when people experimented with things no one would dare to today.
What worries me is that these memories seem to be fading away. From yellowing plastic to huge batches of leaky capacitors, ways of playing these games as severely diminished. As a way of fighting this (and perhaps as a way to save money), I tend to restore game consoles, cartridges, and controllers whenever and wherever I can. I'll admit I'm no electrical engineer, but I nevertheless found success in restoring a Nintendo Gameboy Advance, A Nintendo GameCube, A Wii Guitar Hero Controller, and a couple Pokemon cartridge batteries.