Personal

My name is Joseph Pogoretskiy. I was raised in the Shenandoah Valley and have lived here all my life. I grew up in a family of seven and I am currently a junior at James Madison University.

I have always been fascinated with computers and technology ever since I was a little boy. I would be in awe of what tiny screens are able to do and would always beg my siblings to use their iPods. Watching them use their devices was even enough for me!

Background

I first picked up programming by teaching myself HTML and CSS through Codecademy in middle school STEM class. This was my first ever peek under the hood of a computer application.

The earliest programming project I still have was a simple, static homepage for released music that I have been producing for about a decade on the side.

Academics

I continued to learn front-end languages throughout the latter half of middle school and high school. I graduated Fort Defiance High School with a class rank of 8 and a Valley Scholars Scholarship.

I go to James Madison University to study Computer Science full-time, where I am currently finishing up my Bachelor's degree. I have made it to the JMU President's List three semesters thus far.

Other

Outside of academics, whenever I am not working, you will often find me reading books, watching YouTube, doing calisthenics, or socializing with friends.

I have been a student leader at the JMU Baptist Campus Ministry for about two years and a volunteer for the non-profit organization Village2Village that helps settle incoming refugees.

I enjoy being with my family, being active in my church through local activities and international mission trips, and working on personal project, whether that be programming applications or getting lost in church history.