About
Shewbox.org is my (Ben Shewmaker’s) little corner of the web.
Who am I?
I suppose for the first 25 years of my life I would have said I was a musician. I studied violin from ages 5 to 18, then began studying saxophone seriously at 18 (although I started playing in 7th grade at age 12). I earned a degree in music education from the University of Central Arkansas in 2004 and then started a masters in saxophone performance at Indiana University Bloomington. I dropped out after a semester with the intention of returning after a year to gain in state status and thereby save many thousands of dollars in tuition. Somewhere between dropping out and the next year I decided my heart just wasn’t in it enough to justify that level of study. I had always been obsessed with computers and technology since we got our 286 many years ago and I sought to combine my love of music with technology. In August of 2007 I found myself moving to Miami, FL to start a masters degree in electronic music from the University of Miami.
I loved the program and the people at Miami and even enjoyed my teaching assistantship (I was responsible for 2 levels of undergraduate ear training). There was, though, this ever so tiny problem of having to have moved away from my wife (who was starting a masters in piano performance at IU) to go to school at Miami. Once again I found myself dropping out of grad school after a semester and returning to the glamorous life of waiting tables full time. It was my intention initially to go back to Miami after my wife finished her degree. I once again began to question my future and wondered if electronic music was exactly where I wanted to be headed. 6 months after returning to Bloomington I found myself searching yet again for a career path. This time I swung further in the technology direction and began taking computer science classes at IU.
I am now entering my second full semester of computer science work, breaking my one semester record. Perhaps I may finish the undergraduate computer science curriculum as a non degree student and then try for a masters in the field. Maybe I’ll settle for another undergraduate degree. Or maybe I’ll change my mind again and become a college educated truck driver. But I think I may stick with it this time. I’ve always loved computers and technology and a career in this field is appealing to me. Exactly what type of job I might land is a mystery. But I have a nagging suspicion I’m on the right path this time.
So for now I suppose I might call myself a college educated server/musician considering a career in computers. Or something to that effect.