The Resume
Christopher T. Cutler
500 College Ave * Swarthmore * PA 19081
(610) 690-4851 * ccutler1@swarthmore.edu
http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/~chip
EDUCATION
Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA. Candidate for Honors
Bachelor of Arts Degree, June 2000. Major in English, Minor
in Computer Science. Cumulative G.P.A.: 3.68. Computer
Science G.P.A.: 3.82.
Mountain View High School, Mountain View, CA. Graduated June
1996 in top 1% of class, National Merit Finalist. G.P.A.: 3.98
SKILLS
Programming Languages: C, Java, HTML, Javascript.
Operating Systems: Linux (Debian and Red Hat), MacOS,
Windows98/NT.
Experience: Software testing, documentation, system
administration, web authoring, troubleshooting.
Computer Science courses include: Theory of Computation, Operating
Systems, Compiler Design and Construction, Artificial Intelligence,
and a thesis project that consists of designing and implementing a
web language.
EXPERIENCE
Opentable.com, San Francisco, CA
Summer Intern
June 1999 to August 1999.
Wrote test plans and tested web site and reservation book
application. Aided user interface design of the next version.
Aided web design. Proofread web site. Learned the dynamics
of a young startup company.
Pangea Systems, Oakland, CA
Summer Intern
June 1998 to August 1998.
Documented a Java-based API for this bioinformatics company's
software suite, approximately 100 pages. Interacted both with
software engineers and marketing managers. Took second prize
in company-wide bug hunt prior to release of new application.
Apple Computer, Cupertino, CA
Summer Intern
June 1997 to August 1997.
Performed black box software testing on the Apple Location
Manager 2.0 and File Synchronization Control Panels on
multiple computer models. Learned the fundamental principles
of software testing, bug tracking, and working in software
development environment.
Swarthmore College Computer Society, www.sccs.swarthmore.edu
System Administrator
April 1998 to the present.
One of five students running two Linux servers that provide
Unix shell accounts, email addresses, and web space for
approximately 800 students, as well as mailing lists and web
space for approx. 75 student organizations.
The Environmental Revolution, www.erev.org
Webmaster
August 1997 to May 1999.
Designed and maintained web site for web-based environmental
organization. Posted a weekly column on the site and sent a
weekly email newsletter.
Computing Center, Swarthmore College
Public Area Lab Manager
December 1996 to present.
Install, upgrade, and troubleshoot approximately 100
public-use computers, mostly iMacs currently running MacOS
8.6. Direct and work with an Assistant Public Area Lab
Manager.
INTERESTS
Theater, poetry, photography, squash and juggling.
Autobiographical
I was born December 30th, 1977 at Kaiser Hospital in San Francisco, California.
When I was 6, I went to bed one night complaining of a stomach ache. My parents figured I had the stomach flu. When I woke up later that night delirious, they decided it was probably more serious than that. By the time the doctors operated, my appendix, the source of the trouble, had ruptured (yes, as in "popped"). Believe it or not, this is not an especially uncommon occurence (or so they told my parents). I ended up staying in the hospital for a month because my body didn't recover completely until they operated a second time (apparently things weren't cleaned up perfectly the first time). I have only hazy memories of the experience: being proud when the nurse drew my daily blood sample while my dad wasn't even in the room, wishing (for the first time in my life) that I could take a nap rather than get up, and getting special permission to watch Star Wars on TV, only to fall asleep during the first 15 minutes. It must have been a harrowing experience for my parents, but my own memories are mostly benign.
In 2nd grade my parents took my out of the local public elementary school and put me in a private one called Peninsula School. Although I wasn't especially happy about the switch at the time, in hindsight I am glad that I ended up there and stayed through 8th grade. Peninsula is hard to describe to those who don't know it - for some reason the term "private school" seems to conjure up images of plaid uniforms and religious ideologies - which is as far from the truth as you can get. I like to tell people that it is run by ex-hippies, which, even though it isn't entirely true, does convey a sense of the values that the school embodies. The emphasis is on enjoyment of learning. To this end, kids have quite a bit of free time and (this always shocked my public school friends) no homework or grades.
I was quite worried that I'd roll over and die when I entered public high school, however. Happily, I didn't. In fact, as far as academics were concerned, I was quite the nerd. Socially too, to some extent. But there really isn't much else to say about high school. I took a bunch of classes, learned a few things, and made several wonderful friends. I graduated with a straight A average, only to have it yanked away when my senior physics teacher gave me a B for the second semester (I figure that's what saved me from being a pompous, valedictory asshole).
College. Ever since grade school the stock answer I had for annoying grownups asking about my future involved going to Stanford University. It is fifteen minutes from my home, both my parents and several relatives went there, and it one hell of a fine place to go to school. Clearly, there was no shortage of reasons to spend the next four years of my life on "the farm" (that's slang for the Stanford campus, for those of you who thought that I was talking about agriculture). Naturally, during the fall of my senior year of high school I applied to Stanford, but by that time the situation had changed. 7 out of 9 of the schools I applied to were small liberal arts colleges. Stanford still sounded cool, but I was also very interested in something a little smaller.
The truth was that I didn't expect to get into Stanford and figured that I would be spared the choice between my childhood ambition and the principles that had led me in a new direction. In April my mailbox was filled with an embarrassment of riches: a stack of acceptance letters, including one from Stanford.
Well, I'll spare you the suspense: I am currently a senior at Swarthmore College and have not regretted my decision for a moment. Sometimes I surprise myself when I realize just how happy I am with the place I landed. As a sophmore I really had no idea what I wanted to major in. I chose English almost by default (it occured to me that I have taken at least one English course every semester that I have been here at college). I am still satisfied with that choice, I enjoy the classes, like the department, and am comfortable leaving this place with a BA in English Littrachaw. I should probably mention that (against my will) I find myself minoring in Computer Science. Perhaps "against my will" is a little strong; coming to college I never saw myself as a CS major. That was for people who were a hell of a lot more comfortable with math and logic than I. Little did I know that programming is really fun. I haven't the faintest idea why, but I do enjoy it, so the minor makes perfect sense to me now.
The future beckons, but I do my best to ignore it or at least keep it from getting on my case. One of these days I'll figure out what I'm going to do with my life, but not today.