In a computer lab at College of Western Idaho (CWI), Computer Science student, Jay Berry, watches lines of code scroll across a computer while a small, animated character jumps across the screen. Around him, classmates compare notes, test files, and reload the program again and again.
The game is simple for now. A title screen drops in. A character moves across a platform. An enemy waits near the edge of the level. But every piece on the screen was built by Berry and his classmates, one file at a time.
“We’ve added thousands of lines of code at this point,” Berry said. “Everyone works on their part, then sends it in, and I make sure everything fits together.”
Berry serves as the integration manager for the group project in his Intro to Full Stack Web Development (CPSC 221) class, reviewing code from five teammates and testing it before it becomes part of the final version. The assignment is designed to mirror how software is built in the real world, with students working together on one shared program.
His group chose to create a two-dimensional platform game, a project that lines up closely with what Berry hopes to do after graduation.
“Dream job would be game development,” he said. “I like figuring out how things work behind the scenes. I don’t really care if it looks perfect. I like making it work.”
That interest in systems and problem solving did not start with years of experience on computers. When Berry first enrolled at CWI, he had almost none.
“I’d never owned a computer before this,” he said. “When I walked into my first class, people were using terms I didn’t even know. It felt like I was in the ocean.”
Berry graduated high school in 2019 and went straight to a four-year university, but he was unsure what he wanted to study. He chose a business pathway at first, mostly because it felt like a safe option.
Then the pandemic hit, classes moved online, and he stepped away from school. For the next few years, he worked as a server and bartender, unsure if he wanted to return to college at all.
“I liked working, but I always had this feeling that I should be doing more,” Berry said. “I wanted something where I could use my mind, not just go through the motions.”
A friend who attended CWI suggested he look into the College. The smaller classes and local campus felt like a better place to start again, and Berry decided to try the Computer Science program, mostly because he enjoyed math and liked figuring out how things worked.
Once he started, the hands-on structure of the program kept him interested. Lecture days introduced new ideas, and lab days gave students the chance to apply them.
“You actually try things, mess them up, fix them, and then suddenly it works,” Berry said. “It feels like solving a puzzle.”
He said the biggest difference at CWI has been the support from instructors, who encouraged students to ask questions, come to drop-in hours, and keep working through problems instead of giving up when something did not make sense.
“Most of the time when I went to office hours, it was just me and the teacher,” Berry said. “They don’t just give you the answer. They help you understand how to think through it.”
Berry credits Computer Science Assistant Professor, Lawrence Sevigny, for helping him see how the material connects to future careers, and Mathematics Instructor, Gary Thomas, for showing how concepts in the classroom apply to real problems in programming.
As the semesters went on, Berry found himself becoming more confident in the classroom. In the current game project, he often helps teammates troubleshoot problems and test new code, something he never expected when he first started the program.
“It’s kind of weird to think last year I didn’t know anything about computer science, and now I’m the one leading and checking everyone’s code,” he said. “I’ve learned I like being in that role, helping people figure things out.”
Working in a group has also shown him how closely the classroom can match the real world. Students share files through version control software, review each other’s work, and meet regularly to decide what comes next.
“You’re not doing this alone,” Berry said. “You’re always building something with other people.”
Berry will graduate in Spring 2026 with his Associate of Science degree in Computer Science and plans to transfer to Boise State University to continue his studies. Game design remains a long-term goal, but he said the program at CWI helped him see how many different paths the field can offer.
“With computer science, you can go a lot of directions,” he said. “What I know now is that I like solving problems, working with logic, and building things that actually do something.”
Back in the lab, the game is still unfinished. New files are added almost every week, and the team is still deciding what the final version will look like. Berry runs the program again, watches the character land on the platform, and scrolls back to the code.
“There’s always something to fix,” he said. “That’s the part I like.”
To learn more about the Computer Science program at CWI, including degree options and transfer opportunities, visit the Computer Science program page.
