About Me.
My name is Cyrilla Walters. I am trans woman from Connecticut. I specialize in Game Tools, UI Programming, and Systems Programming.
I am currently a Game Design and Interactive Media Student at University Of California Irvine. With a Minor in Ancient Greek. I am the Director of the Programming Department at UCI's Video Game Development Club.
I currently mainly work in Unreal using both blueprints and C++. I also have a lot of experience with Unity.
I have 5 years of welding experience, as well as 10 years of drumming. I have also been doing film photograph on and off since age 13.
Programming
Someone once told me that I am the most passionate programmer they had ever met. (I have been told that I am the most passionate programmer that person has ever met.) You may be wondering how that happened. Oh, you are not?... well, too bad.
During my second 8th grade year, I took my first ever programming class. A friend and I both asked the school if we could take a highschool programming class instead of the middle school one. We were allowed to, and that's when I learned I love to code.
My Dyslexic brain is wired in such a way that it just understands coding. For the first time ever, I had found a thing I was good at in school.
Programming is just problem solving. There is nothing more satisfying than solving a problem that has stumped you.
I have experience in many different languages:
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C#
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C++
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Java
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Swift
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Python
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Java Script
When I was in 3rd Grade, I was diagnosed with Dyslexia. At first everything was the same. However, when 4th grade started I really began to struggle. I was practically forced to change school to one which specializes in learning disabilities.
That school helped me an immense amount with my reading and writing abilities. It turned me into a hard-working student. However, it only further made me dislike English. Spending three hours a day for four years doing something you despise (find frustrating) does not help liking it. Near the end of my time there, I started drumming.
After what felt like 4 excruciating years, I left my middle school to go to highschool. However, since I was going to a school that did not focus on learning disabilities, I had to repeat 8th grade. It was during this year that I took my first programming class. Another important event that happened during my second 8th grade year was when I took my first welding class.
While in highschool, I had some incredible and unique experiences that really shaped who I am. I went on a trip to Greece; learned Nuclear Chemistry; read some things I actually enjoyed (Dracula by Bram Stoker, Frankenstien by Mary Shelley, and Ozymandias by Percy Shelly); won a hockey championship; Completed two science fair projects; took an app development class; took a (poorly taught) class on data structures; created a game without any prior Unity Experience.
Even Though highschool was rough for me personally, I somehow managed to keep great grades.
Early Life
College
My struggling through high school paid off in the end. I got into UCI for GDIM (Game Design and Interactive Media), which was my top choice.
Here at UCI I have learned so much about programming games, not only from classes I have taken, but also experience. I had moments of doubt early on in my time here, but as it has gone on, I know I have made the right choice.
My work ethic I developed in middle and high school came in useful and has led me to create some amazing systems for games. This led me to getting the opportunity to work on a capstone project as a second year student. As well as becoming one of the programming officers of the VGDC.
In my third year I worked on my own capstone Chronomancy. This project really made me fall in love with Unreal C++. I spent a minimum of 400 hours programming Chronomancy. Later that year I became the Programming Director for VGDC. Also during my third year, I started getting involved in a sport called Jugger. I ended up choosing the hardest weapon to play (chain), but through a lot of practice and dedication, I became the main chain player for the UCI team. In the spring quarter that year I became an officer of the UCI Jugger team, and over the summer I would promoted to the captain.
In my fourth year burn out started to hit me like a truck. That being said I did work on Breaker during fall quarter, mainly doing the basic UI implementation. Also during fall quarter I officially decided to add Ancient Greek as a minor. Things kinda fell apart for me during winter quarter, and I ended up passing off the leader ship of the UCI Jugger team to more motivated people, though I did not stop playing chain. These people ended up making the team an Offical UCI club. During this year as the Programming Director, I tried to leave a mark on the club by running extra more advanced workshops 4 times a quarter. Doing this allows us to give a space to teach Unreal and other more advanced topics with higher frequency to hopefully retain more 3rd and 4th year students. These workshops have so far been a great success.
Here I am at the end of my time at UCI I learned so much about both games and myself. Even though I struggled through burn out and other mental health issues it was an amazing time, and I am very sad to go. I hope I have left my mark in some small way here. Even if my name is forgotten, I hope I have brought some good to the people and spaces around me
