I am currently a Senior at George Mason University studying to obtain my B.S. in Computer Science. As of Fall 2010, I have been participating in the Accelerated Masters Program which requires a 3.50 G.P.A. and allows me to use a series of graduate classes towards both my undergraduate and graduate degrees. My expected graduation dates are Fall 2011 and Fall 2012, respectively.


Four main programming languages have been used throughout my college courses, ordered starting with the most widely used, are: Java, C, MIPS Assembly, and Python. A vast array of topics and methods have also been covered, but are not limited to: algorithms, compilers, operating systems, low-level architecture, and database concepts.


To keep myself busy I try to tackle a number of pet projects which help expand my programming knowledge and further my experience in the field. My personal website (www.aaronfoltz.com) is one example of this. After the theme and basic design were loaded from Weebly, I took it upon myself to completely recode the base without all of the Weebly-dependent jargon and to implement a sleek navigational menu. Along the way, many other minuscule things were added, but overall, it refreshed my novice HTML experience and allowed me to dive head first into Javascript and CSS.


My Java HTML Injector is a completed project, and was designed after struggling to inject a small portion of HTML into a Java Servlet. The fact is, doing this by hand can be extremely tedious and confusing as the developer is basically juggling two different code bases concurrently. This HTML Injector allows you to completely separate the process and allows the developer to concentrate on one part of the system at a time. The developer can now edit the HTML separately, and once done, pass it to my HTML Injector which will correctly embed it in the Java source code as expected. As of now, the application is running as a Java Servlet hosted on the Google App Engine with an easy-to-use front-end on my website.


Apart from my personal experiences, I also have experience in the software development industry. During the summer of 2011, I interned at Time Warner Cable in their Cross Platform Development group. Over the course of the 10-week internship I was able to propose and completely finish a working prototype as well as design a detailed port map for a portion of the lab. The project involved a completely new aspect of programming that we are not introduced to during our undergraduate or graduate studies, so the entire process was basically learn-as-you-go. The heart of the application was located on the set-top box and was written entirely in Managed Application XML (MAX) which allowed me to complete both a presentation and logic layer. The set-top box would then communicate with a series of Java Servlets running on JBoss in order to finish the more complex logic and return something which is readable. This entire process was completed using several industry standard tools and methods such as Agile, Jira, and Version Control (Perforce).


Overall, I couldn't have asked for more from this internship. It reignited my thirst for software development and allowed me to learn many industry standard tools as well as perfect my communication and team-working skills. Using these newfound industry skills paired with my hard work throughout my studies (I think my GPA can attest to this), I plan to get a jumpstart into a career in the Software Development field.