Hi, I'm Nate. I'm originally from a suburb of Philadelphia, PA. I taught myself how to code before college, and I entered the University of Michigan in September 2018, where I discovered interests in math, economics, and personal writing.
Looking to get more real-world experience after my freshman year of college, I left school in May 2019. Over the summer, I interned at Google. That October, shortly after the founders went through YC's Summer '19 batch, I joined Jupiter as their first hire. Outside of establishing a strong engineering organization and codifying the company's guiding development philosophies and practices, I spent a year building end-to-end systems with TypeScript, React, Kotlin, gRPC, and Kubernetes.
During my gap year at Jupiter, I also established California residency by living, voting, and paying taxes in San Francisco. Because of my new domicile, I intend to transfer to a UC school in Fall 2021 with an anticipated graduation date of May 2023, and I officially phased out of my role at Jupiter in November 2020 in preparation for that. As of this writing, I'm spending the next few months writing transfer applications and completing transfer prerequisite courses at the College of the Canyons. I'm looking forward to being a student again in September 2021.
I started this little blog to share some of my experiences — I hope you enjoy.
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A Review of My Year at Jupiter (YC S19)
At the end of 2019, I moved to a new place in San Francisco and started my career as a startup software engineer. I am now planning on returning to college. My 2020 in review.
A Life Update
Two weeks ago, I sent 208 old friends — everyone from elementary school teachers to my intern mentor at Google — an email life update for the first time. Here's the email I sent, with some results.
My 2020 Gap Year Playbook (for Startups and Tech)
As more and more colleges go online, I've started to get more questions from students about taking a gap year. If you're looking to take a gap year soon, willing to learn how to code, and interested in pursuing a career in tech, here's what I recommend.
On George Floyd
A few words on George Floyd, racism, and taking action.
How to Make a Professional Personal Website for Free
This blog is deployed to Europe, Asia, SF, and NYC. It's secured with SSL, updates instantly, and is served from my personal domain. An intro to HTML/CSS, web hosting, and DNS, and how to get this for free.
From My Freshman Year to Google to a Startup
My 2019 in review: freshman year, leaving college, a summer at Google, and joining a startup. Some notes on 2020 and beyond.
Managing My $40K Google Internship Money
I made $40,000 working this summer as a software engineering intern. From high-yield savings to stocks and bonds, here's how I'm managing this pile of cash.
From Chicago to San Francisco by Train in 52 Hours
A photojournal of 52 hours on Amtrak, from the Mississippi River to San Francisco Bay. A round trip across America for $500: SJC to LAX to DTW to BOS to PHL to MDW to San Francisco. Some tips for finding cheap flights.
Scenes from My First Summer in Tech
On moving to San Francisco at nineteen, and interesting moments from my first summer in Silicon Valley.
How I Handled My Suspension on the Common App
Why I took three unplanned days off of school the summer after my freshman year. Handling my high school suspension during the college admissions process and beyond. Thoughts four years later.
How I Got a Google Internship Freshman Year
From application, to interview, to offer — my path to landing a full software engineering intern position at Google as a first-year student, my unconventional hiring process, and a few resources I recommend for those going through the process now.
Why I Run
I was a 4:36 miler in high school, running at least 30 miles per week all year round. Since coming to college, week by week, I've run less and less and less. Some thoughts about getting back into it, featuring my favorite hometown haunt.
A Definitive Proof That 1 > 0
The most interesting proof I did in my first-year real analysis course — drawing on the ordered field axioms to prove 1 > 0. An introduction to mathematical reasoning from first principles.
On Ross Preferred Admission, LSA vs Engineering, and More
Updated for 2021. Things to know when applying to the University of Michigan — LSA vs. Engineering vs. Ross, dual degrees, Ross preferred admission, AP credit, majors, housing, Bursley or Baits, and more.