I'm Felipe.

Front-End Developer

University of Maryland

🌿
androidui-uxeducation

University of Maryland

One year in the US. Full scholarship from the Brazilian government. An experience that shaped who I am.

The Program

Program: Scientific Expansion (CiĂȘncia sem Fronteiras) Period: 2013-2014 Scholarship: Full ride, courtesy of Brazil Focus: Officially UI/UX research, but really it was broader than that

The “research” designation was mostly administrative. In practice, I was developing - built an Android app and a web app during my time there. Real projects, real code, not just academic papers.

Three Semesters, Three Experiences

Semester 1: English Institute

Started with a semester at the English institute, taking writing and communication classes. This is where I got truly fluent - not just “can order food” fluent, but “can write academic papers and argue nuanced points” fluent.

The writing class had a connection with a group of inmates who wrote poetry as part of their rehabilitation program. We exchanged work. I wrote a poem about growing up in a poor family in Brazil.

It got selected as one of the best pieces.

That same class? I got a 125/100 on my final assignment. Those American grade curves are wild.

Semesters 2 & 3: Real Classes

After the English foundation, I dove into actual Computer Science and business classes. My favorite was an entrepreneurship course that was basically a guided tour of innovation:

  • Visited Nike headquarters
  • Toured Tesla (back when they were still the scrappy underdog)
  • Saw Cirque du Soleil behind the scenes
  • Attended a talk by Walter Isaacson, the guy who wrote Steve Jobs’ biography

I also participated in startup founding programs and various business courses. It expanded my thinking beyond pure engineering into how technology serves business goals.

The Adventures

The West Coast Trip

During a break, me and some friends did the classic West Coast road trip: LA, San Francisco, Las Vegas for New Year’s Eve.

We had no money. Like, genuinely broke. The cheapest motels and hostels we could find. Questionable “tourism” options that fit our budget.

In San Francisco, we joined a “limo tour” that was suspiciously cheap. The vehicle was questionable. The driver was questionable. The whole vibe screamed “this might be an organ harvesting operation.”

We survived. Probably.

To this day, I’m not 100% sure it wasn’t a front for something sketchy. But we saw the Golden Gate Bridge, so worth it.

The Trail Club

Joined the university’s trail club and met one of my best friends there. Hiking, camping, kayaking - the kind of outdoor adventures you can only really do when you’re young, broke, and have weekends free.

Campus Life

Had amazing roommates. We absolutely destroyed games on the Wii U together - full completionist runs, late-night sessions, the kind of gaming that builds actual friendships.

First time ice skating. First time experiencing actual winter (Brazilian “winter” doesn’t count). First time being a minority in a room, which is its own kind of education.

What It Taught Me

Living abroad forces you to grow in ways staying home never could. You learn adaptability, self-reliance, and that your comfort zone is way smaller than you thought.

The technical skills I gained matter less than the perspective shift. I came back to Brazil with a bigger sense of what’s possible.

Backlinks

← CV← UNIFEI