My Unusual Path to AI: I'm Proof That Anyone Can Join Me in This Field

I grew up on a farm. I had exactly one computer class in high school and I had no idea what an engineer did.

Although I am wildly proud of my heritage and deeply respect my family and their lifestyle, I always knew that I wanted a different life for myself. I also knew that I would have to figure out how to finance my new path.

I believed that education was core to my future, even though I had no idea what that future would hold. So, I threw myself into education and athletics with the goal of a full-ride college scholarship.

My years of work paid off. I landed the coveted full-ride academic scholarship and an added athletic scholarship that made daily living expenses much easier to manage.

The offer came from a school renowned for engineering. I didn't know what that was and had never met an engineer, but I knew I could learn. I was in.

This is how my journey to a life in technology began. My first "real" engineering job was as a bioventing field engineer, digging a ditch in rain that went on for days on a US Air Force base. That is a story for another time.

As you approach each new year, remember to control what you can control. Write your own story. You have no idea where faith in yourself can take you.