Valedictorian intrigued by the science behind the code
Stephen O’Connor has loved computers for as long as he can remember.
“Computers were always something I was enamoured with growing up,” says the graduate from the Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science. “In kindergarten, when it was play time, there was a list of activities and one of them was playing games on a computer, and I always wanted to do that.”
O’Connor turned down his nomination as valedictorian from John Rennie High School in Pointe-Claire because he was shy. After completing the honours science program at John Abbott College, he temporarily put his studies on hold.
The subsequent two-and-a-half years at a Montreal video games company solidified his passion for computers. Promoted twice, he even had a hand in “white box” testing, which involved actually looking at programming code and finding the errors (as opposed to “black box” testing, which has users merely testing functionality). Outside work, he taught himself two computer languages: Visual Basic and Lua.
When deciding to resume his studies, O’Connor was drawn to Concordia in part because his mother had attended the university. He opted for computer science because he was especially interested in the related theory. While adept at programming, it isn’t his main interest. What impassions him is the science behind the code – the mathematics and the logic.
Throughout his Concordia studies, O’Connor has been a perennial member of the annual Dean’s List and has acted – unofficially – as a tutor to his classmates. He also served as a transcriptionist during his second and third year of studies to help a hearing-impaired student. By any criteria, he was a model student – winning a scholarship, invited to join two honours societies, and maintaining a grade point average of 4.16.
It hasn’t been all academics for him. Keeping alive his passion for games, he made a popular modification to Dawn of War II making him, in the parlance of the computer world, a modder. The mod he created was available for download on the game’s blog.
Now applying for graduate studies in computer science, O’Connor is particularly interested in exploring two research areas: machine learning data structure, and algorithms.
He is also exploring his entrepreneurial side, having recently designed aluminum casings for computer keyboards. Several pre-orders have already been placed for the casings that are being locally manufactured. He hit on the idea of using lightweight, durable aluminum after amassing a small collection of computer keyboards and tinkering with them as a hobby.
O’Connor has not let his high academic standards override the other important aspects of university — the social life and camaraderie that come with being part of a class. “Every semester, I had new classmates, new friends,” he says, and smiles.
And that shyness that led him to decline the role of valedictorian back in high school is definitely gone. When the Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science asked him to be a valedictorian for the Class of 2012, his answer was a resounding yes!
Related links:
• Read about more 2012 Great Grads in the Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science
• Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science
• Department of Computer Sciences and Software Engineering