Since we moved from the Dominican Republic to the United States, my life has changed drastically. In just three years, I finished college at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette where I was awarded with Outstanding Student award from the College of General Studies. Also, I finished a Masters from the University of Denver, where I graduated with a Master’s of Applied Sciences in Information Technology, with a concentration in Web Design and Development. But, the most important thing is that my wife and I have a BEAUTIFUL BOY who is a blessing from heaven. And to make this even better, we are expecting a new baby! So many great things have happened in just three short years!

Probably you are wondering why I finished undergrad in 2010. However, I have to point out that previous to the University of Louisiana, I studied for 9 years in the Dominican Republic. The problem was that I had to work full-time while going to the university, which slowed me down because I could not take more than one or two classes per semester (Also, the CS program is 186 credits). I am so grateful I was able to finish my undergraduate degree so quickly and pursue a Master’s. At this point, I think I am done with higher education, though I have often thought about getting a PhD in the future!

Continuing with other things, after doing freelance work for about 3 years since I moved, I decided to create a Web Development company in Lafayette, Louisiana. The name of the company is Haketi, which is the result of 3 months of searching for a unique name. To get to this name, I researched the aborigin words of the Taino Indians, who were the ones living on the island “La Hispaniola” aka Dominican Republic, before Columbus and his crew came to the new continent. Heketi or hequeti means “one” in this lost language, but we decided to replace the first “e” with an “a” because internationally, it would be hard for people to know how to pronounce it. I hope Haketi will continue to grow and expand!

The future looks very bright for me and my family here in Lafayette. Hopefully, I can team up with other web developers and designers to create a culture for great web design in the area. Also, I hope we can help businesses deliver better products and services. I am thankful for where I am today, and I am excited for what tomorrow holds!