Everyone calls me Jan nowadays. I'm cool with it. I love my name as long as it's pronounced correctly (/JAN-yoo-EL/). Haha! I am a new mom of a beautiful baby boy, Zayden, and he inspires me. Everyday I look at him and think of his future. I tell myself "Think of all the other children like him in this world. What can I do to contribute to make this world a better place?". To be honest, I still don't know how, but I guess I have to start somewhere. And today, I shall tell you my story. I currently work for Microsoft as a Software Engineer, but I come from a humble beginning. I was born and raised in a very small town in the Philippines, and life was tough growing up. I was born in a family of farmers. My grandparents and their grandparents grew rice and corn. We, their grandchildren, were expected to continue their legacy, but of course, destiny had a different plan for me. My mother was my first teacher as she taught me how to read. I've always loved to solve mathematical problems in grade school, and I have a penchant for science. My father, who was gone all day helping my grandfather in the farm, always made time in the night to help me with my homework.Throughout my youth there were plenty of hardships. Things like: bad weather ruining the crops, starvation, lack of money, lack of clothes that still fit, extended family conflicts, not having school supplies or proper clothing to protect us from the heavy rains, abusive people, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, typhoons, and flooding. Despite all of these, I was happy growing up. I survived and thrived. Those experiences shape me into the human I've become today. I have a passion for teaching but my childhood dream was to become a surgeon. In college, the only school that was available to me was an agricultural school. It was the closest to my home, and it was the only one that my parents could afford. I was lucky enough to get a scholarship to support my studies. Yes, even agricultural colleges can have Information Technology and/or Computer Science courses. I worked hard to finish my degree, even so far as achieving academic excellence as a magna cum laude. Right after I've finished my education, I immediately began seeking work relating to Software Engineering. I started as an entry-level web application developer in 2007. I've developed a passion for full stack development throughout the years. I also love working on end-to-end user experience, and at the same time being involved in the full development lifecycle. I'm a people person and I love to collaborate with others.