MC2 Monadnock Graduate
Software Developer
Interview with Chris Vickery
What is your favorite memory from MC2?
It’s really hard to pinpoint one moment as my favorite, but I guess if I’m forced to I would have to say it was the perfect community meeting we had at the beginning of the 07-08 school year. This community meeting was about respect, a common topic for community meetings. It ran amazingly well, not a single Force-Vote and every single vote count added up correctly. Along with it being the perfect community meeting, during lunch ARC (Appeals and Recommendations Committee) started… What an awesome day!
What was your funniest moment at MC2?
The day Adam tried to do a wheely on a very small bike in the middle of the community room in Antioch during an internship day and flipped the bike over, landing on the ground hard. It was utterly hysterical.
Who from MC2 has had the greatest impact on you, and why?
Kim Carter, hands down. You could go to her with absolutely anything and either she’s an expert on it or happens to be in email communication with someone who is. I don’t think I would have made it out of MC2 alive without her.
How well do you feel MC2 prepared you for the post-grad experience?
Extremely well. I learned more about computers, my primary interest, at MC2 than any amount of classes could have taught me in a traditional High School… I based almost all of my learning opportunities on computers and programming and got a lot of “real world” experience in my field of interest.
If you could give one piece of advice to the current MC2 students, what would it be?
A lot of people say students need to stop playing games a goofing around and get work done. MC2 students have a reputation of taking longer than necessary to get work done. I don’t think the issue is that they are distracted unproductive things but instead that students need to make the things that distract them productive. In my time at MC2 I got credit for political rants, games I wrong, games I played, and just about anything in between. A boring project is a rarity if you play your cards right…
How has MC2 supported you since graduating?
I’m obviously still in contact with all of my MC2 community members so those resources are still 100% there.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
In my graduation exhibition I talked about “pipe” [a programming term] as a method of turning things that you like into credit. This is the reality of MC2 and what made it so successful for me. You can turn any hobby or interest into a full blown research project in a heartbeat with a little planning and negotiation and a lot of imagination.