Hi, my name is Marco Capuano, and I did not grow up with a strong passion for technology. My interest really began with video games. I was always curious about how they worked, the mechanics, the graphics, the logic behind them, and the amount of effort that goes into creating large scale AAA studio games. That curiosity slowly turned into something more tangible in Grade 10, when I enrolled in my first introductory computer science course in high school.
For our final project that year, worth 20 percent of our grade, we were given complete creative freedom. I chose to build a simple health suggestion program where users could input their age and personal goals and receive recommendations directly in the terminal. While I completed the assignment successfully, I remember feeling disappointed with the final product. I knew it worked, but I also knew it could be better. That feeling stuck with me, and it became the motivation to improve and keep developing my skills.
By Grade 12, that motivation paid off. My final computer science project was a turn based RPG where the player navigated a 5x5 map through multiple stages, collected weapons and armour, and fought monsters on the way to a final boss. While working on that project, I often reflected back on my Grade 10 assignment and was amazed at how far I had come. I implemented random attack ranges, used object oriented programming to manage gear statistics, and designed a hand drawn GUI that changed based on the player’s position on the map. This project marked the proudest moment of my early programming journey and ultimately pushed me to apply to software engineering and computer science programs at university.
In 2022, I accepted an offer to the University of Guelph for their Computer Science program. Guelph was my dream school. While it might seem unconventional to some, my interest in Guelph originally came from a desire to study Wildlife Biology. I fell in love with the campus, the surrounding environment, and the sense of community, which made it an easy choice when I committed to computer science.
My first year of university was academically solid. I performed well in my programming courses due to my prior experience, but I struggled with calculus, discrete math, and linear algebra. Despite those challenges, the year was foundational. I was introduced to C programming, the primary language used at Guelph, and learned the fundamentals of dynamic memory allocation, both of which shaped the way I think about efficiency and low level problem solving.
Second year was without question the most challenging year of my degree. The three toughest courses were Object Oriented Programming, Software System Development and Integration, often referred to by students as “The Angel of Death,” and Structure and Application Microcomputing. Each course pushed me in different ways.
In Object Oriented Programming, we were tasked with building a Mancala game. While the core logic was manageable, the automated tests were extremely strict. This forced me to refine my code thoroughly, handle edge cases properly, and ensure reliability beyond basic functionality. The course also introduced me to GUI development and SQL, expanding my understanding of full application design.
Software System Development required us to complete three smaller projects that ultimately fed into a final billiards game. The course emphasized GUI design, animation, and system integration, but more importantly, it taught me resilience. We received feedback on Projects 2 and 3 during the same week the final project was due, which meant revisiting earlier work, correcting design flaws, and merging multiple codebases under intense time pressure. That experience taught me how to iterate quickly and adapt when plans change.
Microcomputing was the most difficult course I have completed to date. It introduced assembly programming and low level system logic, which was a completely different mindset from anything I had encountered before. The steep learning curve forced me to slow down, stay disciplined, and truly commit to understanding how systems operate at the hardware level.
After second year, I completed my first co-op term at Marsim Auto Group, where I worked for eight months as a Junior IT Technician and site designer. My primary responsibility was designing and building a SharePoint intranet for the company. I organized critical company files, designed the site’s structure, and implemented most of the requested functionality before an external firm was brought in to complete the final visual design.
During my term, the company experienced a ransomware attack that rendered all server files inaccessible. I was the first to notice the issue and immediately reported it to my supervisor, who contacted our cybersecurity provider. We took the entire server offline and spent a week operating under emergency conditions while new clean PCs were deployed. The experience taught me how to remain calm, follow protocols, and respond effectively under pressure.
My third year was my favorite year of university and the one where I experienced the most growth. Professors gave us far more creative freedom, allowing us to design solutions rather than follow rigid instructions. This shift encouraged experimentation and deeper ownership of my work.
Two projects stood out in particular. The first was a data visualization project that analyzed ecommerce transaction data. The system organized purchases by region and customer frequency, highlighted buying trends, and presented insights in a clear, digestible format for analysts. The second project was a mobile application inspired by Pokémon Go. My team developed an app where users could take photos of birds, identify them using an AI classifier in the backend, and generate satirical descriptions using ChatGPT. Built around the “Birds Aren’t Real” meme, the app aimed to encourage people to go outside while adding a humorous twist to ornithology.
My final co-op term was at The Syscomm Group, where I worked as a Technical Support Analyst. I handled troubleshooting requests, hardware repairs, system setups, Windows and Microsoft server management, and supported clients through Microsoft Admin Center. Managing technical issues for over 300 companies exposed me to a wide variety of systems and software, teaching me how to adapt quickly and deliver reliable customer focused solutions.
My journey through computer science has been full of challenges, late nights, and more caffeine than I care to admit, but I would not trade it for anything. Beyond technical skills, this program has taught me perseverance, problem solving under pressure, and how to continuously learn in a field that never stops evolving. I am motivated by the process of improvement, both in my work and in myself, and I am excited to continue building meaningful, reliable, and creative solutions as I move forward in my career.