About Me
Work and School
Hello all! My name is Victoria, and I am a software engineer at Google in Kirkland, WA and I have been there since the beginning of May 2010. I am working on the Chrome Video team, helping implement the <video> tag and other goodness!
Prior to Google, I was attending the University of Washington, Seattle. For my undergrad I had a 4-year full tuition scholarship, and in December 2008 I received my Bachelors in Computer Science with a Math minor. Immediately afterwards, I entered the Computer Science Master’s program at UW and in March 2010, I earned my Master’s degree. At my time at UW, I was a TA for Intro CSE 142 for approximately 5 million quarters, and I actually got a chance to teach the course in Summer 2009. I also did research under Evan Welbourne on the UW RFID ecosystem project, and I got to take a lot of fun and interesting classes. The UW CSE program was absolutely amazing to me, so I hope I can help them out now that I am a grown lady!
Prior to UW, I was attending Pierce College instead of attending the last 2 years of high school through the Washington State Running Start program (3rd best decision of my life). Pierce had some of the most amazing instructors I’ve ever met, and I couldn’t more highly recommend it as a place to start one’s higher education.
Contact Information
Email: victoriakirst@gmail.com
AIM: bictolia
Fun Facts
- My favorite vegetable is avocado, followed by corn. Basically the only 2 vegetables delicious enough to make you fat.
- I am half Korean, half white. I’ve found that Koreans from Korea tend to think I am 100% white, and I’ve met many Americans who thought I was 100% Korean. But halvsies can always tell who else is half!
- I am a girl’s girl. I love shopping, hate driving, and am perpetually trying to lose those last 10 pounds.
- I am a dog person and I love all dogs, but especially my friend Lindsey’s dog, Toby. Plans are underway to steal him, shh!
- I love Judy Garland, Janis Joplin, Lena Horne, Nina Simone, Mariah Carey (pre-crazy), Aretha Franklin, and the Beatles (post-crazy). Also, every Judas scene in Jesus Christ Superstar 1970s. (I plan to name my next car Carl Anderson. (Car Anderson?))
- I’ve never watched many movies or TV shows, but I’m working on it now that I’m in my 20s!
- I love Shakespeare and my new year’s resolution for 2010 is to read all of his plays! (Also, to wear more skirts.) My favorite play is Othello and my favorite line is “I would have him nine years a-killing!”
- I am obnoxiously opinionated about literature. I love Walt Whitman and Salinger and Flannery O’Connor, need to read more Shirley Jackson and Nabokov as I’ve loved everything I’ve read so far. I am part of a book club and am making my best effort not to be a literadouche (as I may/may not have been in college)!
- I have an eye phobia. I hate eyes. I hate others touching my eyes (optometrist’s, people applying make-up) and I am prone to fainting at the discussion of lasik surgery. I’m pretty sure if I got lasik surgery, I would be chronically fainting like every 5 seconds.
- At first I wanted to be a “scientist”. Then, a lawyer. Then I wanted to be a professional piano player. Then I wanted to be an English teacher, then a piano teacher, then a Korean teacher. Then an English teacher again. I finally settled on computer science, and my parents breathed a biiiig sigh of relief. Looking back, phew!! I am relieved too!
