Presentation

Who I Am

Hello! My name is Marcos Vinicius, I’m 18 years old, and I’m studying Computer Science at Inteli in São Paulo, Brazil!

How I Got Here

How It All Began

I come from a poor family that lived in a small city called Mairiporã, located near São Paulo, closer to the countryside. Out there, we didn’t have a Wi-Fi connection because our house was too far from others — we could only access the internet through mobile data. My PC was an old Samsung notebook from 2014 with 4GB of RAM and an Intel Core i3, even though it was already 2020.

The Turning Point

Then the pandemic hit. I couldn’t go to school or attend online classes. I had no friends living nearby, nothing to do in the middle of nowhere, and my computer couldn’t run any games.

But one day, while trying to make a Pokémon clone game, I found out about RPG Maker. I downloaded some tutorials using my family’s limited internet and waited an entire night for it to install.

That event changed everything. I started learning how to code just to build my own Pokémon game (which I still plan to release someday). My curiosity led me to explore a wide range of programming languages and tools, like JavaScript, C#, C, C++, Python, Ruby, Godot, and many others.

How I Am Today

In 2024, during my final year of high school, I needed to find a job to help support my family. While searching, I discovered Instituto Proa – an organization that helps young people grow and prepare for the job market. While I was there, I worked on a major project called VOUVI, which I’ll share more about soon.

As I was nearing the end of my time there, I came across Inteli – a college with a unique and modern approach to education, unlike anything I had seen at other Brazilian institutions. I was so impressed that I applied immediately. I also joined a community called Wave, a group of students who train and support others applying to Inteli.

Eventually, I got into the Computer Science program — my dream course. And now, here I am, writing this article to share my journey with you.