About Me

If you are reading this, I must have done something right to get your attention. To keep things concise, I will briefly describe my background, then share where I am currently in life, and finally explain why I am aiming high.

Background

My name is Henry Arinaga. I was born in sunny Ventura, California, and I am currently 27 years old (born February 18). I come from a family of immigrants who, for the most part, came to the United States legally.

My father never graduated from school. In fact, he only completed up to the 3rd grade. He came to the United States from Zacatecas, Mexico, at the age of 13 in search of a better life. My mother completed the 10th grade in Jalisco, Mexico, and moved to the United States at 18, eventually earning her GED.

Because of this, I am the first in my family to attend a university and graduate with an associate degree, although my sister outpaced me in that regard.

Growing Up

Although I was born in the beautiful coastal town of Ventura, my family moved to Wasco, California, when I was about 7 years old. Most of my childhood memories are from living in the Central Valley.

Overall, I would say it is a nice place to live. You definitely have to get used to the agricultural environment, including the sights and smells. There is something special about small town life. With a population of around 27,000, things are quiet. Most nights, you can walk outside and see the stars clearly without the noise of highways, helicopters, or overcrowded neighborhoods.

Where I Am Now

Currently, I am a Computer Science undergraduate at California State University, Bakersfield. I am in my final semester, with about seven weeks left before graduation.

It feels surreal. Sometimes I cannot believe I have made it this far. Knowing that I am making my family proud motivates me to keep going, no matter how heavy the workload gets.

This semester alone, I am balancing five classes, each with its own major project.

Passion for Software Engineering

I genuinely enjoy coding, whether it is solving LeetCode problems or designing systems. My dream is to become a Lead Software Engineer, ideally at my own startup, while also handling DevOps responsibilities.

I enjoy working in teams and often find myself stepping into leadership roles. I have no problem leading as long as everyone contributes.

Academic Projects

• A marketplace with WebSockets for real time communication
• A Kotlin based event app
• A MiniScheme parser and evaluator
• A distributed node network system
• A fighting game frame analyzer web app
• An OpenGL video game where I am creating the engine from scratch
• Labtrack, my senior project, a booking system for the CSUB computer lab with admin tools designed to replace the current system

Personal Projects

RSALite

• A tool that demonstrates how RSA factoring works with prime numbers
• Backend written in C
• UI built with GTK inspired by GNOME
• Still actively being developed with new features

Other Projects

• A Reddit and ChatGPT tool for subreddit recommendations, currently being reworked due to API changes
• Several additional projects, some of which are private due to academic requirements

You can find most of my work on my GitHub.

Technical Skills

• C
• Go (Golang)
• SQL
• React

I consider myself a full stack developer, comfortable with the entire process from writing the first line of code to deployment.

• Strengths: Backend logic, DevOps, system design
• Growth area: Frontend design, but I make up for it with strong implementation skills

Philosophy and Vision

At this point, programming is no longer just a hobby. It is a lifestyle.

I see software engineering as a key driver of human advancement, even as AI agents take over more repetitive aspects of development. We are still only scratching the surface.

Every day, I see new opportunities for software in areas like:

• Robotics
• AR and VR
• The metaverse
• Blockchain
• Brain computer interfaces such as Neuralink

I view AI as a tool, similar to how a power drill improved upon a hammer or a chainsaw improved upon a handsaw. I am excited to see what the near future holds.

Career Goals

I am currently seeking opportunities to start my career.

I am open to entry level roles to get my foot in the door. What matters most to me is working for a company that values and respects its employees. I have proven my loyalty before. I stayed at my first job for over 7 years.

There is much more I could share, but I will save that for future posts.

If you have made it this far, thank you for reading. Feel free to reach out. I am always happy to connect, answer questions, or just have a conversation.

Fun Fact

I have a 4 and a half year old tuxedo cat named Bubbles.
He loves sneaking outside without my permission.