From Code to Seeds: A Tech Veteran’s Pivot to Sustainable Agriculture

Let’s talk about career plots that are wilder than Boston Medical Center’s 7,000-square-foot rooftop farm. I’m that kid from Jamaica, Queens who was debugging code while most kids were still figuring out their Nintendo controllers. Started teaching myself programming and computer repair at age 6 because why play games when you can take apart the whole system, right?

The Tech Stack Before The Plant Stack

Fast forward through years of self-taught tech wizardry to 2018 – graduated from F.I.R.S.T. Institute in Orlando with a degree in Recording Arts and Show Production. Got to flex both the technical and creative muscles, learning everything from signal flow to sound design. Mixing boards, meet mixing beats.

Back to the Concrete Jungle

2019 brought me back to New York, where I switched gears faster than a Manhattan taxi driver. Landed roles as a Structured Cable Tech in construction and an A/V Tech, plus whatever freelance gigs came my way. If it had wires, needed configuration, or made sound, I was your guy. Think of it as being a digital handyman with a killer playlist.

Plot Twist: Enter Sustainable Horticulture

So there I was, comfortable in my tech lane, when I decided to add “plant whisperer” to my already eclectic resume. Enrolled in Unity Environmental University’s distance learning program for Sustainable Horticulture. Because apparently, troubleshooting networks wasn’t enough – I wanted to troubleshoot nitrogen levels too.

When Life Force-Quits Your Program

January hit like a corrupted hard drive with my grandmother Gertrude’s unexpected shutdown. No amount of ctrl+alt+delete could fix this one. Had to withdraw from my classes because some system crashes you just can’t reboot from right away.

The Ultimate Integration Project

Here’s what’s wild – everything I’ve done is actually connected:

Programming taught me systematic thinking (turns out plants have their own kind of code)
Audio engineering showed me that everything’s about finding the right balance (like soil pH)
Construction and A/V work proved that solid infrastructure is everything (in tech and agriculture)

Debugging Life’s Code

Currently working on a personal restore point while slowly getting back to my studies. When you’ve spent your life learning systems – from computers to sound waves to construction – adding sustainable agriculture feels less like a career change and more like downloading a new skill set.

What’s Next in the Stack

Looking at initiatives like BMC’s rooftop garden program hits different when you understand both the technical infrastructure and the agricultural potential. It’s not just about growing food – it’s about building sustainable systems, something I’ve been doing since I was old enough to hold a screwdriver.

Compiling Future Plans

While I’m taking time to process the loss of my grandmother, I’m not forgetting the original mission. Whether it’s programming, audio engineering, technical installations, or sustainable agriculture – it’s all about building something meaningful from the ground up.

To anyone thinking tech and agriculture don’t mix: wait until you see what happens when someone who’s been optimizing systems since age 6 gets their hands on sustainable farming techniques. This is just version 1.0.

P.S. – To my grandmother: your grandson’s still out here trying to make things grow, just adding some tech magic to the mix. Error 404: Your presence deeply missed.