My Words to the Graduates
Dear BScCS-4 (1990),
Graduation is a time of great rejoicing. Each of you have good reasons to be proud of your accomplishments. The many long days and nights of preparation for the beginning of your career should pay off nicely. I give you sincere congratulations and honor for a job well done. To have successfully labored through four demanding years of a difficult program is an honor indeed. May you continue to do your best helping your company to succeed and providing for your family's well-being.
Regarding technical advice, I only have three comments. First, beware of computer addiction. It is very easy to lose balance and to let the computer and your job consume all your time and energy. Second, do not be afraid of change. Our field is one of the most volatile and dynamic fields of study on earth. You can stay abreast on technology - not by frantically reading about every new thing, but by "leap frogging" new developments from time to time. Try to gain the essence of the product or concept. Search deeper if you have the time. Third, learn how to find excitement in any job that you are requested to perform. All peoples are given work that can be considered boring, tedious, unexciting, etc. But, those who are happy at their jobs find ways to be creative. Even documentation can be a creative work when you are able to design the layout and format of the chapters and sections in order to publish a professional and beautiful document in form and content.
I have good memories of teaching you through your first two years. Despite your efforts to break me of my habit, I still say "excellent!" to my students. Your diligence and attitudes continue to challenge me. While you have many academic strengths, I encourage you to focus on sharpening your skills of good judgement, creative thought, integrity, and innovation. I have high expectations for you all.
Sincerely, Bradley R. Swim
Background
Bradley R. Swim received the B.A. degree in Mathematics from Point Loma Nazarene College, San Diego, CA in 1979, and the M.S. degree (with distinction honors) in Computer Science from California State University, Northridge, CA in 1990.
From 1979 to 1986 he was a software engineer at McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Company,Huntington Beach, CA, where he researched and developed various support software development tools oriented towards microprocessor architectures. Other projects included the development of support software for RISC and non-RISC architectures. During 1986 to 1988 he lectured at the City Polytechnic of Hong Kong in the areas of computer architectures, operating systems, compilers, and programming languages. His current interests are in object oriented development methods and tools facilitating software measurement, program development environments, and computer architectures.