I worked on adding a dropdown menu to the Projects page so admins can filter projects by workshop. I wanted the workshop options to come directly from the database instead of having to type them in manually, so I used IsWorkshop to find workshop records and Distinct() to avoid duplicate titles. This way, when new workshops are added to the database, they can automatically show up as options in the dropdown.

I updated the Projects page logic in Index.cshtml.cs to load the workshop titles and filter the results based on the selected option. I also worked on displaying student names alongside their project details so admins can see who each project belongs to. This involved using Entity Framework to retrieve the related student information from the database.

One thing I had to pay attention to was making sure students could still only see their own projects. The original code already filtered projects using the logged-in user's ID, so I needed to keep that behavior while adding the new admin filtering. It helped me understand how important it is to consider different user roles when changing how information is displayed.

While working on this, I also learned more about how Razor Pages connects the frontend and backend. The .cshtml file controls what the user sees, including the dropdown, while the .cshtml.cs file handles retrieving the data and applying the filters. Seeing how the two files work together made the structure of the project a little clearer to me.

I’m still working through some issues like adding images and applying the filtering to edit/delete/detail file. I’m starting to get a better understanding of how the different parts of the site fit together.

I've also enjoyed coming back to Python. I like how simple and flexible the language feels, especially not having to explicitly declare variables like in some other languages. It's nice to revisit a language I haven't used much recently and remember what I enjoyed about it.

My first commit focused on making the game interface resize based on the user's screen size. Since Wilson originally developed the game on his home PC, the window was larger than what my laptop could properly display. We also wanted to make the window resizable rather than locking it to fixed dimensions. I implemented initialize() and resize() functions so the interface could adapt to different screen sizes and be updated as we add more characters and features.

One thing I found interesting was learning how Pygame handles events through an event loop, rather than simply checking for changes once. It was a good reminder that even a small feature can involve thinking carefully about how a program responds to its environment.

This isn't a major project, but I genuinely enjoy working on it. It reminded me why I fell in love with coding, designing, and bringing ideas to life.

Most of my previous experience has been with Dart and Flutter, so working with HTML and CSS has been a bit of a learning curve. For one of the issues I worked on, I made a small update to the website to style the links on the main pages as buttons.

At first, I tried using the nav-link class, but that ended up changing all of the navigation links into buttons. That wasn't what I wanted, since I only wanted certain links within the page content to have the button styling.

I ended up learning how to target main a instead and added some basic CSS for the padding, background color, rounded corners, and hover/focus effects. I used a GeeksforGeeks tutorial to help me understand the CSS syntax and how link styling works.

I also started getting familiar with DB Browser for SQLite, which is completely new territory for me.

It's a pretty small update, but I think these little changes are helping me get more comfortable working with code outside of the Dart/Flutter environment I'm used to. I'm looking forward to learning more as I continue working on the Civic Action site.

I’m a student at Hendrix College double majoring in Computer Science and Mathematics, and I’m currently gaining hands-on experience as a Software Developer at Disco Tray Studios. My experience also includes client-facing technical work at Apptegy and providing technical support as a HelpDesk Student WorkerDesk Student Worker.

I enjoy solving problems, understanding how things work, and turning ideas into useful software. I play flag football and love to draw and Journal.

This blog is where I document my journey through college, software development, mathematics, and personal growth. My goal is to keep learning and reflect on my experiences, and share what I find.