Opening doors to opportunity is Che Rose's favorite part of teaching. “The students start off thinking that computer programming is some type of magical rocket science, or that it's for other people but not them. But by the end of their first semester, they can look at a hundred lines of code and read it like they'd read a text from their girlfriend/boyfriend,” he says.

 

Mr. Rose, who came to IDEA in 2018, has hired IDEA scholars to work on projects at Cookout Games, the video game studio he founded, where he is the creative director and lead programmer. Because he is a working professional in the industry, Mr. Rose can bring the latest techniques and knowledge to his classes at IDEA. In fact, he says, they are doing work that he didn’t do until he got to graduate school. Mr. Rose enjoys the culture at IDEA that encourages creativity, innovation, and opportunity, all important components of what he is teaching his students.

 

Mr. Rose is also an adjunct professor at American University. Before his programming career, Mr. Rose was a journalist, and before that, he was in the U.S. Navy. He has a Master of Arts in game design and a Bachelor of Arts in literature from the University of Houston. He was born and raised in Texas.

 

The quote that inspires him is: “Science is magic that works.” — Kurt Vonnegut