Scott Greenstone
The Broadside
For Felipe Delatorre, video games weren’t a distraction from his career path; they were an inspiration.
Delatorre said he grew up “half and half,” in both America and Mexico.
“I was born in Brownsville, Texas. Then I moved to Mexico for a while—that explains the accent,” said Delatorre. “I came back when I was finishing sixth grade.”
But the move hardly interrupted a happy childhood. His parents owned a video game lounge and Delatorre grew up in a “perfect universe of games,” with some of his favorites being Goldeneye, Metal Gear Solid and Age of Empires II.
“I had a Nintendo 64—not just one, but five of them,” said Delatorre. “We had a downstairs with a bunch of TVs. I dreamed as a child of growing up and having a basement full of games.”
For the Delatorre family, games weren’t a thing of isolation but of friendship and community. Felipe recalls that his home was always full of kids playing video games or hide and seek at the park right behind his house. And it didn’t matter what class or what financial background Delatorre’s friends were.
“I just saw them as people,” said Delatorre. “I didn’t see them as members of a class. I saw them as human.”
Because of growing up around technology, Felipe has decided to go into the computer science program at COCC. His greatest fear is failing the program.
“I don’t want to not be able to go to computer programming school,” said Delatorre. “That’s my goal. If I can’t accomplish it, I’m going to be devastated.”
He wants to be a supervisor or a manager in the programming business, but does not want to work on video games.
“That would ruin it. It’s a hobby, but I don’t want it to be my career,” Delatorre said.
Although he is easygoing, there is one area in which Delatorre has no room for debate: he must have a steady career.
“It’s already imprinted in my mind that I have to have a career. It’s already chiseled in stone,” said Delatorre. “That has to be it now. It’s either that or nothing.
Know someone interesting on campus? Let Scott know. Contact Scott Greenstone at [email protected].