About Me
Atikan Chokpapone
Born and raised in Houston, Texas, I am the first generation of my family to be a natural-born American and an Aggie. My parents immigrated from Thailand a few years before I was born and worked hard to build a life and family here. From them, I learned the true meaning of working hard for everything and that nothing in the world is free. Coming from a lower class and moving to the middle class, I understand the troubles of building a strong character with limited resources in the world. Therefore, it is hard for me to stand by when I see someone in need. Having watched my parents help people without any expectation of return, I will always do everything in my power to help others where I can. And quite frankly, making people happy feels better than any amount of money could. My grandpa told my mom (in Thai) "if you're going to do anything, you better be the best at it. If not, why bother?" Though it's a bit blunt, it's true. I may never be the "best," but I will never stop seeking improvement and growth.
My Interests
Computer networking and infrastructures: I’m not sure what it is about these things, but I’m so easily captivated by anything and everything related to networking. I’ve been slowly building a home server in my apartment for some time now. It contains a machine running the Proxmox Hypervisor within a separate LAN and a persistent VPN tunnel, allowing me to forward all traffic to another public IP. However, due to the sheer cost of equipment, progress in development is slow. Ask me about my server rack!
Privacy and Security: With the world being so connected and growing ever more vulnerable, the need for privacy and security in my life has gone from an interest to a necessity of life. I actively seek to improve the digital privacy and security of myself and those around me. Having taken computer security courses and participated in the NSA CodeBreaker Challenge, I have developed a fair amount of knowledge in cybersecurity.
Investments: I started investing at the young age of 18 as I began my first year of college. My mentality to this was “this will be a great way to not waste money and be rewarded for patience.” Looking back now, I have grown to know so much more about monetary investments and how a life choice is an investment. This developing skill can then be translated into many other aspects of life and work.
Photography: While I am nowhere near a pro, I find a unique type of enjoyment when capturing a moment of life in a single frame. My goal for every shot is to tell a story and convey an emotion. I particularly like to capture nature and wildlife, but I am working on expanding my comfort zone.