By Richard Zagrzecki
University of Houston student Ryan Thompson has set some lofty goals for himself.
The psychology and political science major from the Houston area wants to go to law school, become a practicing attorney and then be elected a judge.
“I have a knack for the law and problem solving and learning new things and so I think that I would make a fantastic judge,” Thompson said.
He also has a knack for technology, which led him to his current student worker position with University Information Technology. He works under Robert Birkline in the business solutions department. He’s held the position since the start of the fall semester. Much of those first couple of months was spent learning code and getting acclimated to the job.
Now, he’s been assigned to work on his first major project – an upgraded version of the University of Houston Redline app. That work could be done sometime in the next month.
“I love technology. I probably could pursue it as a career, but it has always been my hobby and probably always will be,” he said.
That hobby has included doing freelance mobile application development for friends and family. He also wrote an app for his fraternity, Tau Kappa Epsilon, as well as a few fun little game apps that allowed him to practice his skills.
For about five months, he also wrote an advice column for the Daily Cougar.
“It was mostly stuff that I thought students were going through in life,” Thompson said. “I had an article on going home for the holidays and one on how to deal with your parents. There was one for trying not to eat too much during the holidays.”
Thompson previously worked as the PR director for the Student Government Association and met Birkline during a development meeting for the Redline app. A few weeks later, Thompson interviewed for the UIT position and was offered it.
He has worked in several different departments here on campus, including being a desk assistant in Student Housing and Residential Life and a customer service representative in Student Financial Services. He has also worked at the Blaffer Museum.
His current job at UIT, however, is his favorite.
“This job definitely encompasses my talents and allows me to be creative. I really love it here,” he said.
He enjoys the atmosphere at UH and the opportunities the school offers students.
“It is so diverse that there is constantly places where you can try new things. It is a really great place to explore your life, which is one of the reasons people go to colleges,” he said.