2826 Guelph Street
Vancouver, BC V5T 3P8
January 18th, 2017
travis.gritter@gmail.com
ENGL 301, Department of English
University of British Columbia
397 – 1873 East Mall
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1
To Class of English 301
I am a Bachelor of Computer Science student in his final semester of university. My previous degree was in Philosophy where I developed a passion for logic philosophy as well as the theory of computing. I have a particular interest in topics such as Turing machines, complexity classes and quantum computing. I also have an interest in how developments in technology, like artificial intelligence and virtual reality, affects society. I would love to form a team with members who are also interesting in writing about technology. While I do not yet have any technical work experience, I have been attending several hackathons and tech events since I’ve started my degree. My most notable one was the Global Game Jam where I made a boss fighting video game with the Unity Engine. I’ve gone on to make several of my own video games using Unity including Golf Course Manager VR which I based off my summer job as a Groundskeeper. I also have been an active member of the UBC debate team for the past few years, having competed and volunteered at many competitive debate tournaments throughout North America. In this club I learned valuable communication skills which I hope can contribute to the team projects we will be doing this term.
My strengths in terms of writing skill is my critical thinking and my organization skills. I feel that my background in philosophy and debate has given me experience to determine what is important to explain and how to communicate it clearly. I am also excellent at generating intriguing ideas for projects and how best to implement them. I also work very well within a team environment. My weakness in terms of writing style is undoubtedly my attention to detail. I find that essays are often full of small grammar and spelling mistakes that I fail to catch. Even when I really do spend the time to try and find them all I always seem to miss some small details. As such, I would love to be on a team with someone who is a very good editor.
My learning philosophy is to always discuss what you learnt with other people. I find that when I share what I have been learning with others and have to respond to any questions or criticisms they may have, I find that I always strengthen my understanding of a topic. I find that this is also the best way to identify weaknesses in my thinking that I should change or find better evidence for. In the debate society for instance, I find debating about a subject forces you think deeply about an issue and gain a much better understanding of it. Even though this is an online course, I feel there is still a great opportunity to discuss our ideas with each other in this class by using the many methods of online communication that are available to us.
In summary, I am someone who has excellent communication skills with a passion for technology. I am very much looking for a team that is also interested in doing a project on technology, so don’t hesitate to let me know if that’s also a topic that appeals to you.
Sincerely
Travis Gritter
301TravisGritterApplicationletter