Graduate Spotlight: Reece Adkins

Posted on May 21, 2018

By Holly Walker

“John Tyler has had a number of impacts on me. I discovered a major that I’m passionate about; forged many strong friendships that I anticipate will last for a long time; participated in a number of exciting events and opportunities as a student ambassador; and created working relationships with professors that I felt respected me and encouraged me to put drive and effort into my studies.” – Reece Adkins

Technology intrigues Reece Adkins. Smartphones, computer processors and latest gadgets fascinate him. He wants to understand how they work, and more importantly, Reece wants to know how to program them. His curious and analytical nature stretch back as far as he can remember, but for a brief period of time, Reece toyed with the idea of pursuing a different career path. In high school, he did not care for math, so he decided to explore other options. He enrolled in John Tyler Community College’s General Studies program and began his search. 

A year into the program, Reece received a loving nudge from his sister, who challenged him to pursue his longtime interest – programming. Reece decided to go for it, focusing his major on the Computer Science Specialization. Soon after, he made a surprising discovery: a love of math! Reece says instead of dreading the idea of taking math, he now contemplates which type of math he wants to learn next. He attributes this change to his time at Tyler. Reece says thanks to the college, he’s grown and become a different student. “The biggest impact JTCC has had on me was helping me discover a major that I was passionate about and laying out the path forward in front of me,” said Reece.

Next up for Reece – James Madison University. Reece plans to complete a bachelor’s of science in computer science with a minor in mathematics on his way to becoming a software developer.