Dec 1, 2022
We had the pleasure of sitting down with Stephen Asuncion, a recent computer science and full stack alum. Stephen tells us about his time after grad and what it is like working in the field.
Hi Stephen, thanks for sitting down with us! Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
My name is Stephen Asuncion, and I am from the Philippines. I started my journey at Langara in 2020 and graduated in August. I have been officially working in full stack since the beginning of this year in a Web3 startup business called Ambition.
What made you want to get into computer science?
I was a curious kid, and coming from a family of engineers, I’ve always questioned how things are created and formed. I remember when my father got me my first laptop, I opened notepad, and I immediately wondered how it was made. Right away, I did some research and started learning how to do batch scripting – the first form of computer programming I learnt. Ever since, I have been into computer science and programming, which has tremendously affected my study and career choices.
That’s amazing. Now that you’re working at Ambition can you tell us more about your current company and your role there?
Ambition is a startup company offering three services: NFT collection generator, NFT contract deployment, and NFT minting website hosting. I first created a personal project called NFT host a year ago, and I found this company working on the same idea. I connected with the founder: he turned out to be in Vancouver as well, so very quickly, he invited me to work together, and we became friends.
I am really enjoying my time here because it allows me to be creative, and my role depends on what needs to be done so I find myself doing different tasks and learning different knowledge and technology daily. When I first joined the company, I was shy, to be honest, and it was hard for me to be comfortable because it was the first company I had ever worked for. But the startup environment is filled with young, energetic, and fun people, and it helped me open up.
You mentioned a project called NFT host. What was the process of creating your personal project?
It was a full-stack web application involving planning, designing, implementing, and maintaining a web application. At first, I saw some companies doing smart contract deployments, and I realized there is a need for a minting website for users. It took me a week to create the prototype and two weeks to launch it officially. In this project, I got to use knowledge from the full stack classes, including accessibility, internationalization, PCI compliance, GDPR compliance, and more. For example, I applied GDPR compliance by allowing users to delete their accounts. This personal project means a lot to me. It has given me a side income, with hundreds of page views daily and a service fee every time a user generates an NFT collection or hosts a minting website.
How has the full stack citation program contributed to your career?
I realized that full stack was not just about coding. There is a lot you need to consider creating a fully functioning web application. The citation program allowed me to identify all the missing pieces I needed to learn to become a certified Full Stack Web Developer. From what I have learnt, I plan to start my own startup soon, seeing high website development demands from many different businesses and companies.
If you could give one piece of advice to other full stack students, what would you say to them?
I am looking forward to making the next step in my career, but in any part of your career, remember to build your portfolio early for job applications. Make sure to stay positive and creative and be a problem-solver.
Thanks for sitting down with us Stephen!