The culmination of events that led to my discovery of Chris Jereza happened rather sporadically during the “college acceptance and rejection” period of my senior year. At the time, I was still unsure of what I wanted to pursue as a career, so I applied to only three college programs of study: business, healthcare information systems, and software engineering.
While the prior two were areas of interest that I had considered for undergraduate education since junior year, my passion for software engineering, computer science, and coding actually stemmed from watching Chris’s videos, in which he discusses a variety of topical interests within the field. His insight and experience from internships at Google, Lyft, and Amazon, day in the life of a UC Berkley series, and preparatory recommendations for coding interviews all informed me of invaluable college advice.
In an online ecosystem of content sharing where every other creator is consistently engaged with the growth of his reputation, Chris projects vibes of genuineness throughout each upload. As a software engineer student at UC Berkley, he shares his own experiences on topics centered around his own interests, which include coding, following up on stock market, implementing quality of life changes, and traveling, to target a supportive, niche demographic of viewers.
Examples of topics that Chris has discussed over the course of his channel (Provided by Chris Jereza Channel Thumbnails)
I have touched upon the topic of qualitative substance versus flashy, immaterial content in my previous blog post about Casually Explained, but I think Chris’s editing style, story boarding, and presentation are also worthy of merit and discussion. Particularly in his video logs (vlogs), Chris utilizes impactful framing, emphatic zoom ins, smooth transitions, and an aesthetic backdrop, accompanied by upbeat music, that is detailed across multiple locations and borders the realms of professional cinematography. However, Chris also remains exceptionally humble while creating content, and he is never afraid to include the occasional blooper. It’s this quintessential aspect of his personality and comedic humor that reminds me of the earlier ages of YouTube, when more creators were focused on character growth and talent maturation rather than for corporate contracts and sponsorships. His content evokes such nostalgic vibes.
It’s this presentation of an identity of “hey, this a person I could meet on campus and just talk and chill with” that couples with an “upperclassman mentor-ship attitude and approach” that really captivated my attention upon my discovery of Chris’s channel and retained my overall, ongoing appreciation for the different avenues he takes in his career that he is willing to share online with us. Now that I have also completed my first year at university, I can commend his showcased efforts and invested work ethic he adheres to while simultaneously staying true to his own interests, publishing content, and interacting with the community he has cultivated over the years.
Here are my personal favorite videos from Chris:
It is ironic that he had dropped out of college because he is a smart person. I guess he made a career out of it and he didn’t need school after all. He does do a lot of good things with the success that he brings, so that’s alright in my book. If it was finals week and he was offering me free cookies, I’d see him as a nice person, too. I’m excited to see what he does in the future to help others out, or if it’s just doing something for fun.