Ben's Timeline
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Profile
BC High '22 • Northeastern University
Talks about #cybersecurity, #computerscience, and #softwareengineering.
Hey there! I'm Ben Petrillo, also known by my online alias Eerie6560.
I've recently graduated from high school. I'll be pursuing a combined major of Computer Science and Mathematics at Northeastern University starting in the fall of 2022, with a minor in Cybersecurity. I have a strong passion for mathematics, technology, and computer networking/services.
Working Experience
Server's Assistant
Chatham Bars Inn • Full-time
June 2022 - Present
Chatham, Massachusetts, United StatesUSSF Certified Match Official
U.S. Soccer Federation • Part-time
March 2017 - PresentSenior Counselor
YMCA of the USA • Full-time
June 2020 - September 2020, June 2021 - September 2021Education
Northeastern University
BS, Computer Science & Cybersecurity
2022 - 2026 • Boston, Massachusetts, United StatesUniversity of Michigan
Web Development Specialization, Computer Science
2022 - 2023 • Ann Arbor, Michigan, United StatesBoston College High School
High School Diploma • Computer Science Concentration
2016 - 2022 • Dorchester, Massachusetts, United StatesGPA: 4.0/4.0
Activities and societies: National Honors Society, Peretti Scholar & Mentor, Chamber Choir Member & Prayer Leader, Arrupe Junior Mentor, Senior Mentor, Table Tennis Club President, Math & Spanish tutor, Junior Varsity Tennis, Track/Cross Country.Licenses & Certifications
Google Cloud Computing Foundations: Networking
Google Career Certificates
Issued May 2022 · No Expiration DateNational Honor Society Member
National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP)
Issued January 2021 · No Expiration DateCertified Match Official
U.S. Soccer Federation
Issued March 2018 · No Expiration DateVolunteering
Peer Tutor
National Honor Society
September 2021 - May 2022Food Pantry Distributor
Société de Saint-Vincent-de-Paul France
August 2017 - PresentMentor
Nando and Elsa Peretti Foundations
September 2020 - June 2021Volunteer
My Brother's Keeper
December 2019 - PresentYouth Soccer Referee
Abington High School
March 2017 - June 2021Skills
AP Courses
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UMichigan - Ann Arbor | Fullstack Development Coursework
Over the summer of 2022 and into the fall, I'll be taking a course at the University of Michigan - Anne Arbor on Web Development Specialization.
I learned HTML5 and CSS3 syntax, & how to create interactive projects with JavaScript. I developed a professional-quality mobile-friendly web portfolio and designed sites that are accessible to a wide audiences.
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High School Graduation
I graduated from Boston College High School as one of the top students in my class.
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Working With More Technologies
I began working more frequently with many more technologies in March 2022.
I also began to deploy most of my projects publicly. To learn more about some of my projects, you can check out my development portfolio.
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College Acceptance
I announced my future plans for college.
I applied to a total of 10 universities and institutions across the United States, and was accepted into each of the ones I applied to. I received scholarships from 9 of the 10.
I ultimately announced my commitment to Northeastern University's class of 2026, in which I will start on the Boston campus in the fall of 2022 with a combined major of Computer Science & Mathematics, minoring in Cybersecurity. The university had an acceptance rate of 6.8% for the class of 2026.
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Discord API Work
After finishing my various AP exams in May, I became quite interested in interacting with the Discord API. I had been using the chatting app for a few years up to this point and wanted to create applications that could enhance the user's Discord experience.
From here I worked quite frequently with Discord.js, picking up another language: TypeScript. I created quite a few Discord applications, such as the following:
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Learning New Languages
During the year after the start of COVID-19, I had free time due to my school's hybrid learning schedule. I wanted to expand my knowledge even further before applying to college in the fall of that year.
At this point I had only known PHP and Python, PHP being from browsing PocketMine-MP plugin source code and by watching videos, and Python being from a course in my school.
I took online courses in Java and began creating plugins for Bukkit and Spigot. I enrolled in online fullstack development courses, eventually picking up CSS, HTML, and JavaScript.
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Making The Most of COVID-19
I did not do much development during the fall and winter of 2019-20. This was primarily because of my rigorous high school courseload and extracurricular activities; I simply did not have enough time.
As COVID began, I became very bored being cooped up in my house. From here, I decided to dive even deeper into my programming interest. I began doing commissions for PocketMine-MP servers, developing mods and plugins for pay.
I created my own Minecraft: Bedrock Edition player-versus-player server and developed its own core. The server was known as Helios Practice and ran until February 2021.
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Development Interest Sparks
In April 2019, during the spring of my freshman year at Boston College High School, my interest in development began. During this time, I was an active Minecraft player and enjoyed playing online with my friends. I was intrigued on how developers were able to mod the game and wanted to do it for myself.
From this point, I began developing PocketMine-MP plugins for Minecraft: Bedrock Edition. These plugins were written initially in PHP 7. I managed to create quite a few of these plugins during the summer of 2019. I wrote the majority of these plugins for my own private server, and slowly began doing commissions during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Boston College High School Career Begins
On September 4, 2016, I began my career as a middle school student at Boston College High School in Dorchester, Massachusetts as I applied and was accepted into the Arrupe Division.
In grades 7 and 8, I became very involved in the school & extracurricular activities, some of which include the following:
You can learn more about my curriculum and coursework here.