You're studying CS at Ateneo?
Yeah, I'm a 2nd year Computer Science student at Ateneo de Manila University. Also doing a dual degree in organizational management because I apparently hate having free time.
It's honestly a lot. Between coursework, org stuff, side projects, and trying to have an actual life, my schedule is pretty packed. But I'm learning a ton and building things I care about so it's worth it.
How do you balance school and coding projects?
Not gonna lie, it's messy. Some weeks I'm super productive, some weeks I'm just trying to survive.
What helps: I try to build projects around what I'm learning in class. Studying databases? Build something with Postgres. Learning about APIs? Make a project that uses one. That way I'm learning twice.
Also I just don't aim for perfection. Ship it, learn from it, fix it later if needed. And I take breaks when I need to. Burnout isn't worth it.
What orgs are you in?
I'm a Developer Officer at Computer Society of the Ateneo (CompSat). I help build internal tools, run workshops, stuff like that.
I'm also involved with MISA and show up to GDG events sometimes. Org life is fun but exhausting. There's always something happening, but the people are cool and I've learned a lot just from being around other builders.