Hello World!
My name is Kevin Jason Barrios, and I'm a 23-year-old from North Las Vegas, Nevada.
I consider myself a problem solver who enjoys finding innovative and efficient solutions to technical challenges. Ever since I was little I have been attracted to computers and have spent most of my years experimenting with different machines. The idea of software as digital tools designed to solve real-world problems has always fascinated me. As I've grown older I have been dedicated to honing my skills so that I'm able to contribute to meaningful software throughout my future.
The rest of this page serves as an about me page where I talk about my experiences and background. I'm always open to hearing from others and making connections so feel free to get in contact with me!
UNLV
I started studying at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, in August 2019 with the focus on Computer Science. However, my journey to UNLV wasn't straightforward.
In high shcool I knew that I wanted to study Computer Science but at the time my grades didn't meet the admission requirements. Despite this, I attended an event called 'Rebel Preview' where high school students could experience the campus before the school year started. It was my first time visiting a college campus and I knew instantly that this was where I wanted to be.
During this event, I met with an academic advisor who noticed that I didn't quite meet the requirements for admission. She informed me about an alternate path: retaking the ACT through the ACT Residual Exam, a version of the test whose score would only apply to UNLV. I had taken the ACT in my junior year but missed the required score by just one point. This was my chance to make up for that.
With only two weeks to prepare, I knew I had to study hard. I borrowed practice books from my school's library, took practice tests online, and focused intensely on improving my score. It was the first time in my life that I truly dedicated myself to achieving a goal.
On the day of the exam, I was nervous but determined. The test was held on UNLV's Paradise campus, and I remember walking into the exam room with a handful of other students of all different ages. The proctor explained the process, and soon enough, the exam began. I did my best to stay focused but as I went through each section, I couldn't shake the feeling that I wasn't performing as well as I needed to. After completing the test I felt unsure about my performance and honestly quite down. I was convinced that I hadn't scored high enough. I called my mom the first thing after walking out of the building, unsure of what to say. She reassured me that she was proud of me for trying so hard, no matter the outcome.
A week later, my score arrived in the mail. My mom was with me when I opened the letter. At first, I saw the scores for each section, when I noticed that they seemed similar to my previous attempt my heart sank. But then I saw the composite score: 22. It was exactly what I needed to be eligible for admission to UNLV. I was overwhelmed with excitement and relief. I immediately shared the news with my advisor, who was thrilled for me and helped me walk though the remaining steps for my admission.
This experience taught me the value of perseverance and hard work. Since then, I've been fully committed to my studies at UNLV and I'm grateful for the opportunity to pursue my passion for Computer Science.
In December 2024, I completed my Bachelors of Science in Computer Science at UNLV. I appreciate all the extensive knowledge and experiences that I've gained. I am proud to have been named to the Dean's Honor List in my Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 semesters and to have graduated with a 3.4 GPA.
Work Experience
2017
I have been working since I was 15 years old, starting with my first job at Carl's Jr. Over the years, I've worked in various food establishments, gaining valuable experience in fast-paced environments that require strong customer service skills. I enjoyed working these roles because they allowed me to interact directly with customers and see the immediate impact my team had on each order.
2020
In 2020, I started a job working at a local food truck that was considerate of my commitment to school. Working here allowed me to focus more on my studies and achieve higher grades. I'm grateful for this job, as it enabled me to balance work and school effectively. I still occasionally work and help out at the food truck, assisting with order management and customer service.
2023
In October 2023 I started to work part-time as a coding instructor at The Coder School Las Vegas. At The CoderSchool I conduct engaging coding classes for small groups of 4-7 students in a classroom setting, with the focus on programming languages such as Python and JavaScript. I help ensure that each student receives personalized attention and guidance, helping them develop and complete lessons and coding projects with an emphasis on problem-solving skills and creativity.
2024
In my last semester of college, I had the opportunity to work as a Software Developer Intern at Banquet Consulting. During my 3 month period I contributed to the development of multi-tenant SaaS applications using C#, AWS services (S3, Lambda, DynamoDB, API Gateway), and web technologies (JavaScript, Maui, Blazor). I had the privilege of working closely with a senior developer who was working on his own custom tech stack with the focus on serverless architecture. I'm grateful for this opportunity since it helped me learn a lot about maintaining a production environment, designing scalable solutions, leveraging modern tools to streamline development, and delivering software that meets client expectations.
2025
Currently, I continue to work as a coding instructor while I actively develop software projects (for others and myself) to continue learning new technologies, techniques, and gain a strong understanding about developing applications across the full stack. I am eager to apply the experiences I've gained and the knowledge I've acquired in the field of Software Development and continue growing as a developer.
Resume
Background
I have been facinated by coding ever since I was a child, though back then, I didn't even know what code was. When I was younger I would spend most of my time on the computer, exploring the web and being facinated by all the different software that was accessible. My brother had introduced me to emulators and I remember downloading emulators for consoles like the Game Boy Advance and playing Pokemon, directly on the PC. Eventually I found Pokemon rom hacks and wanted to learn how to make custom ROMs myself. This was my entry point into the world of programming, where I learned about various tools that allowed me to make edits to Pokemon ROM files. I would spend a lot of time just trying to make my own games and learning the capabilites of these different tools. I even created a YouTube video demonstrating how to add a custom Pokemon Trainer to a ROM file.
As I grew older, I discovered different software tools such as RPG Maker and Game Maker Studio. I spent countless hours learning these tools, building my problem-solving skills, and troubleshooting my own projects. My intreset in coding deepend in middle school with the discorvery of a game called Minecraft which at the time existed only on PC and was written in Java. This game inspired me to set up and customize my own Minecraft server. In the process I learned about Java, port forwarding, and the very basics of managing a server.
In my freshman year of highschool I went to a magnet school where I took classes focused on Computer Science. This is where I gained foundational programming experience and finally started to understand the concept of code. I wrote my first programs in this class, including a hangman game that could pull a random word from a text file. This class gave me my first real exposure to coding concepts and working in an IDE. After that year, I returned to my locally zoned school for the remainder of high school years and didn't continue my formal studies in programming until college.
At university, I continued to improve my programming skills, with C++ was the primary language taught in introductory courses. I began learning deeper concepts of programming and through various assignements I was expanding my skills in different areas.
Since then, I have been consistently writing my own programs and projects, whether to solve problems, develop video games, provide a business solution, or to simply practice my skills. You can find a more comprehensive list of my projects here.