Personal flagship portfolio

I build AI products, test startup ideas in real environments, and grow through execution, not theory.

Computer Science student at UTEP | NSF S-STEM Scholar | Builder, mentor, officer, and early-stage founder compounding momentum through software, startup ecosystems, digital work, and community leadership.

View featured work See the direction

Education

UTEP Computer Science

Scholar

NSF S-STEM

GPA

3.86 / 4.0

Builder in focus

Software, AI, leadership, and founder ambition grounded in real execution.

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01 — Identity

Not an about box. A trajectory.

UTEP computer science student. NSF S-STEM Scholar. Builder shaped by code, startup ecosystems, mentorship, service, and long-range ambition.

I build at the intersection of software engineering, artificial intelligence, entrepreneurship, and human-centered technology, but the deeper pattern is simpler: I move first, learn fast, and keep building in public.

A lot of my growth has come from taking on visible responsibility early, whether that means pitching ideas, leading workshops, serving in officer roles, mentoring students, or stepping into rooms where I know I will be forced to grow.

I care about technology that helps people learn, build confidence, discover opportunities, and move forward with more clarity, especially students, young builders, and people still figuring out what they are capable of.

02 — Projects

Built around real traction, real users, and real direction.

From pitch-winning AI products to systems labs, startup programs, and current venture ideas — each project marks a step toward building technology with strong human value.

AI College Companion·Founder and technical lead

STAR

An AI-powered platform designed to help college students navigate academic life with more structure, clarity, and direction.

Built as founder and technical lead, STAR combines AI-generated lesson planning, task scheduling, opportunity discovery, and personalized study support into a single student-centered product. It grew through pitch competitions, founder programs, and repeated iteration rather than staying as just a classroom idea.

Stack

React · Vite · JavaScript · OpenAI API · CSS · Context API · localStorage

Impact

Won 1st place and a $1000 prize at the Tacos & Tech-ila audience pitch competition sponsored by Microsoft and Nusenda, and helped define my direction as a student founder.

Project

An AI-powered platform designed to help college students navigate academic life with more structure, clarity, and direction.

Core

Students

Layer

Execution

AI Acting Practice Platform·Founder, product direction, full-stack and AI planning

Black Box

A digital acting studio built to help performers rehearse, reflect, and improve when practicing alone.

Black Box is the current build focus: an AI-powered platform for scene analysis, script breakdown, guided rehearsal, performance recording, AI feedback, and measurable progress tracking. It brings together my interests in software, AI, storytelling, and performance into a product with a clear human problem behind it.

Stack

React · Vite · Tailwind · OpenAI APIs · MediaPipe · OpenCV · Supabase or PostgreSQL

Impact

Transforms solo acting practice into a structured feedback loop with room for computer vision, performance analysis, and long-term creative technology potential.

Project

A digital acting studio built to help performers rehearse, reflect, and improve when practicing alone.

Core

Performance

Layer

Feedback

Layer

Vision

Hackathon Project·Hackathon builder

AI Book Boss

An AI tool that generates curated K-5 book collections and lesson plans for immersive learning environments.

Built during the Borderland AI Hackathon, the platform uses retrieval, embeddings, and generative AI to help educators quickly create relevant reading collections and companion learning materials. The project was designed around practical classroom use, not just technical novelty.

Stack

Streamlit · LangChain · FAISS · MiniLM embeddings · OpenAI API

Impact

Won 1st place in the Immersive Learning Track and the Innovator Award, earning recognition from Microsoft, Scholastic, and the STTE Foundation.

Project

An AI tool that generates curated K-5 book collections and lesson plans for immersive learning environments.

Core

Learning

Layer

Curation

Layer

Impact

Systems and Infrastructure Experience·Participant and systems builder

Bloomberg Labs

Hands-on engineering work spanning full-stack application flow and distributed messaging systems.

Worked with Bloomberg engineers across two technical lab experiences, contributing to a full-stack news feed system in 2025 and a RabbitMQ-based producer-consumer lab in 2026 focused on routing, acknowledgements, debugging, and containerized execution. These experiences pushed my understanding beyond application code into systems behavior.

Stack

React · Flask · Redis · Docker · Python · RabbitMQ

Impact

Deepened real-world understanding of scalable systems, backend optimization, messaging infrastructure, and debugging across distributed environments.

Project

Hands-on engineering work spanning full-stack application flow and distributed messaging systems.

Core

Scale

Layer

Messaging

Layer

Systems

Operations and Supply Chain Strategy·Case competition participant

Dell Tech Academy

Case-based strategy work focused on logistics, resilience, and operational decision making under pressure.

Selected to participate in Dell Tech Academy across two competitive experiences, working on real-world manufacturing and supply chain challenges. The work involved logistics planning, demand forecasting, risk analysis, business continuity, delivery constraints, and presenting strategic recommendations to Dell representatives and mentors.

Stack

Supply chain analysis · Operations strategy · Risk assessment · Team presentation · Business continuity

Impact

Expanded my thinking beyond software into systems, logistics, and execution, while reinforcing how leadership and analytical decision making work together in high-stakes environments.

Project

Case-based strategy work focused on logistics, resilience, and operational decision making under pressure.

Core

Strategy

Layer

Operations

Layer

Leadership

03 — Momentum

This is not a static portfolio. It reflects active momentum.

The pattern is ongoing: build, support, test, show up, learn, repeat.

Currently building

Black Box

Actively developing an AI acting practice platform with a direction that combines OpenAI APIs, feedback systems, and computer vision layers like MediaPipe and OpenCV.

Currently building

STAR

Continuing to evolve the original student AI concept into something more product-minded, with stronger user thinking, startup framing, and iteration beyond the first pitch win.

Currently building

INSIGHTS digital work

Supporting ongoing web design, digital content, analytics, and outreach systems that connect programs, events, and students to real community-facing experiences.

Currently learning

Distributed systems, RabbitMQ workflows, messaging patterns, and container-based execution

AI product development with OpenAI APIs, embeddings, retrieval workflows, and practical feedback loops

Full-stack architecture across React frontends, backend integration, and product system thinking

Startup systems like pricing, MVP scope, validation, user discovery, and how to turn ideas into repeatable value

Traction and signals

1st Place - Tacos & Tech-ila audience pitch competition ($1000)

1st Place - Borderland AI Hackathon

Innovator Award - STTE Foundation

Bloomberg Tech Lab participant - systems engineering and distributed systems

Selected participant - Dell Tech Academy

NSF S-STEM Scholar

100+ technical issues resolved at UTEP technology support

How I build

Start with real problems and environments that matter to actual people.

Build fast prototypes and get something testable in motion early.

Use competitions, workshops, communities, and feedback loops as real testing grounds.

Iterate from what breaks, what people respond to, and what proves useful.

Prioritize usefulness, clarity, and human value over unnecessary complexity.

Build in public, stay active, and let execution create the next opportunity.

Technical breakdown - STAR

STAR matters because it pushed me to think like a builder, not just a coder. The technical decisions were shaped by speed, usability, and the need to validate the idea in real environments.

Built the product in React with Vite to move quickly, iterate the interface fast, and keep the system lightweight enough for early-stage testing.

Used the OpenAI API as the intelligence layer for planning, study support, and student-facing guidance features.

Handled state and user flow with Context API and localStorage so the experience could stay simple while still feeling personalized and persistent.

Approached the architecture as a real product system, not just a demo, by thinking through feature grouping, user flow, and how the platform could evolve beyond the first version.

04 — Journey

Growth measured through action, not waiting.

Step in early, learn in public, build under pressure, mentor others, and keep compounding across technology, leadership, and entrepreneurship.

2026 - Now

Leadership through visibility

Serving as a STEAM Intern at Insights Science Discovery, a mentor with GDG on Campus: UTEP, a Technical Officer and professional development leader in ColorStack at UTEP, and a UTEP Undergraduate Fellow. This stage is defined by repeated weekly involvement: workshops, outreach events, digital content, mentoring, program support, and staying visible in the communities I want to help build.

INSIGHTS, GDG on Campus, ColorStack, UTEP Undergraduate Fellows

2025 - 2026

Systems, logistics, and experience design

Expanded from software into operations and systems thinking through Bloomberg Tech Lab, Dell Tech Academy, and the Disney College Program. These experiences sharpened how I think about reliability, logistics, service, storytelling, and what it means to design an experience that people can actually feel.

Bloomberg, Dell Technologies, Walt Disney World

2025

Startup ecosystem immersion

Worked inside Pioneers 21 Business Incubator while participating in Studio G, Tech Frontier, Mike Loya entrepreneurship programming, Dell case challenges, and local founder events. This is where entrepreneurship stopped feeling motivational and started becoming practical: market research, pitch prep, founder resources, pricing, sales thinking, validation, and repeated exposure to people actually building.

Pioneers 21, Studio G, Tech Frontier, Mike Loya Center

2025

Pitching and proving ideas

Built traction around student-focused AI ideas through STAR, Borderland AI Hackathon, the P21 VMS Pitch Challenge, and Tacos & Tech-ila. Building under deadlines, competing under pressure, and pitching in front of real audiences taught me that ideas get stronger when they are tested in public, under constraints, and with real feedback.

STAR, AI Book Boss, STTE, P21 Pitch Challenge

2024 - 2026

Service, support, and community trust

Built trust by solving real problems for students, faculty, and community programs through UTEP technology support, MiniTec coordination, STTE volunteering, FOSS logistics leadership, and outreach work centered on confidence, access, and learning. A lot of my philosophy comes from this: people remember whether you showed up.

UTEP, MiniTec, STTE, FOSS Club

05 — Experience

Real roles, real responsibility, leadership that shows up in public.

Leadership roles, operational work, student support, community service, and the environments where I have actually had to deliver.

Spring 2026 - Present

STEAM Intern

Insights Science Discovery

Support the digital and operational side of science and technology outreach programs, with work spanning digital content, web design, analytics, event support, and student-facing program execution.

Support digital content, web design, and outreach-facing materials for programs and events

Contribute to event support and organization for experiences such as SCRSEF, Science on Screen, DinoTracks, and other STEAM initiatives

Help track engagement, support community-facing communication, and assist with student project support, workshops, and interdisciplinary resources

Summer 2025

Program and Operations Assistant Intern

Pioneers 21 Business Incubator and Co-Work Space

Worked inside a startup incubator helping support founders, entrepreneurship programming, and operational materials while learning venture building from the inside.

Built founder-facing onboarding resources, startup toolkits, and support materials

Helped support pitch competitions, bootcamps, accelerator programming, and Tacos & Tech-ila events

Developed practical exposure to market research, pricing, sales thinking, startup formation, and entrepreneurial operations

September 2024 - February 2026

Technology Support Assistant

The University of Texas at El Paso

Provided front-line technology support inside the College of Education, solving real technical problems while helping users feel more confident with the tools around them.

Supported computer labs, classroom technology, faculty tools, and podcast studio equipment

Troubleshot software and hardware issues across day-to-day campus operations

Resolved 100+ technical support requests while balancing service, communication, and reliability

September 2025 - January 2026

Disney College Program Intern

Walt Disney World

Worked across park operations with a strong focus on safety, guest experience, and execution, while learning from Disney's culture of detail, service, and storytelling.

Supported operations primarily at Magic Kingdom and across other major parks and Disney Springs

Worked in environments where experience quality, detail, and consistency mattered every day

Attended classes and events that deepened my interest in storytelling, Imagineering, and meaningful experience design

ColorStack at UTEP

Technical Officer and Professional Development Leader

Helped launch the chapter and lead student-facing technical and professional development programming, including LinkedIn and personal branding workshops.

GDG on Campus: UTEP

Mentor

Support students in their professional and technical growth through mentorship, guidance, and shared learning.

FOSS Club at UTEP

Logistics Officer

Support planning, coordination, and operations for an open-source student community.

MiniTec

Coordinator

Help lead programming and activities for children with disabilities, combining service, patience, creativity, and community-centered leadership.

Studio G UTEP

Venture Development Mentee

Developed startup thinking through customer discovery, business planning, funding strategy, and founder-focused workshops.

UTEP Undergraduate Fellows Program

Undergraduate Fellow

Participate in campus leadership, mentorship, and professional development programming centered on long-term academic and professional growth.

06 — Capabilities

A stack shaped by engineering, initiative, and product ambition.

Technical execution, AI experimentation, communication, mentorship, leadership, and startup thinking.

Software engineering

Full-stack applications with a growing focus on scalable architecture, systems behavior, and products that solve real user problems.

PythonJavaJavaScriptReactFlaskAPIsDocker

AI and emerging tech

Applied AI tools, retrieval workflows, prompt systems, and product ideas built around usefulness rather than hype.

OpenAI APILangChainFAISSMiniLM embeddingsPrompt workflowsAI product thinking

Design and storytelling

Using product design, communication, and narrative thinking to make software feel clear, motivating, memorable, and human.

Product designHuman-centered softwareInterface thinkingStorytellingUser confidence

Leadership and communication

Leadership shaped by mentorship, theater, workshops, student organizations, public-facing roles, and repeated experience presenting ideas.

MentorshipWorkshopsPresentationTeam coordinationStage presenceProfessional development

Entrepreneurship

A builder mindset shaped by incubators, accelerators, founder conversations, local startup ecosystems, and repeated pitch experience.

Startup buildingMarket researchPricing strategySales funnelsGrant writingOpportunity discovery

Community and momentum

Showing up repeatedly across student organizations, service work, sports, creative projects, and the El Paso innovation community.

ColorStackGDG on CampusMiniTecFOSS ClubSoccer captaincyDJing

07 — Beyond

The human side matters because it changes how I build.

Service, mentorship, performance, sports, and creative work shape how I lead, communicate, and stay grounded.

MiniTec

Working with children with disabilities has sharpened my patience, communication, empathy, and sense of responsibility. It is one of the clearest reminders that impact is not abstract.

Mentorship

Through GDG and ColorStack, I keep returning to mentorship because helping other students gain confidence and direction is part of how I want to lead.

Theater and storytelling

My theater background shaped how I communicate, present, tell stories, and think about emotion, presence, and audience experience.

Soccer

Soccer keeps me connected to discipline, teamwork, energy, and the kind of consistency that only matters if you bring it repeatedly.

DJing and music

DJing and music production give me a creative outlet that keeps experimentation, rhythm, and taste active outside of code.

08 — Vision

A philosophy built around movement, experimentation, and becoming.

The mindset underneath the resume lines: how I think about action, growth, risk, and building a life with intention.

Try before you feel ready.Initiative matters more than permission.Learning happens through building.Consistency compounds over time.The process matters as much as the outcome.Not yet is still progress.Why not move before the timing feels perfect?

I believe that life rewards movement. Most people wait for certainty before they begin, but readiness usually does not appear before action. People become ready by trying, learning, adjusting, and continuing forward.

A belief that has stayed with me for years is that we are capable of doing more than we initially think. I never saw that as pressure. I saw it as responsibility. If I have the chance to learn something, build something, or step into a bigger room, I should take it.

Because of that, I approach life as experimentation. I build projects, join communities, pitch ideas, mentor others, and place myself in environments where growth can happen. Some things work, many things do not, but every attempt creates information. That information helps you adapt, pivot, and keep moving.

What people call luck is often just repeated action becoming visible. When someone keeps showing up, connecting, and trying, opportunities start to appear. The point is not arriving fully formed. The point is becoming the person capable of building what comes next.

Message

You do not need permission to begin. You do not need the perfect plan, the perfect timing, or complete confidence before you start. If something genuinely matters to you, build it, test it, learn from it, and keep going.

Impact

I want to encourage students, young builders, and creators to explore their potential earlier and with more courage. Through technology, entrepreneurship, and community, I want to build tools and environments that help people discover opportunities they might not have seen otherwise.

09 — Contact

I want to build technology companies and platforms that help people grow, adapt, and move forward.

Open to internships, startup opportunities, founder-led teams, freelance web work, and ambitious collaborators building useful technology.

Start the conversation Back to top

igalvan6@miners.utep.edu

Phone

(915) 630-3282

Location

El Paso, Texas

Education

The University of Texas at El Paso

B.S. in Computer Science · Entrepreneurship · Expected May 2029

Elsewhere

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