Choosing to modify his career path from television production to programming was a no-brainer for Patrick. While the industry was converting to computer-based technology, he became increasingly attracted to the way mobile devices, with their combined technologies, could perform tasks that were unimaginable at the time.

Patrick made the move to MCC and the Maricopa Information Technology Institute (MITI) to pursue design and gaming with a focus on mobile development and he’s happy he did–it provides an opportunity to develop technology that can potentially have a meaningful impact on local communities. Partnering with the college and the Mesa Chamber of Commerce, Patrick and his teammates are developing an app that provides crisis support to students and teens when life-changing or traumatic events occur in their lives. As an example, he cites the pandemic as a time when many students felt isolated during the many months of remote learning.

“I have been fortunate to be allowed to follow my interest in UI/UX [User Interface/User Experience] design, and make my contribution developing the user experience, designing the graphical interface elements and building the working wireframe prototype in Xcode,” he says.

Patrick’s time at MCC/MITI has been transformative. Pairing his production experience with UI/UX design experience plus three new Associate of Applied Science degrees in programming and numerous Certificates of Completion, he has launched a new career as a web and mobile software developer this year with Rio Salado College.