Early Life

Manuel Nicolás Matute Zapata was born in Venezuela in the early 2000s, 2001 to be more specific. From a young age, he developed a strong interest in computers, especially video games. As he grew older, he began to appreciate the value of learning things that truly interested him. During his adolescence, he was an excellent student, but he did not see himself as a "genius."

However, even though he did not consider himself a genius, he always stood out for being disciplined and dedicated. Thanks to self-learning and the internet, Nicolás consistently achieved strong academic performance, earning the top honor in his high school and graduating with a degree in Computer Science.

Career

After finishing high school, he began to wonder, as many do at that age, what to do with his life. Fortunately, he already knew: he wanted to become a programmer. He started studying Java, the programming language that caught his attention the most, following tutorials on YouTube. Nicolás enrolled in the Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá to pursue a degree in Software Development, attending until 2022. During that time, he had the chance to teach computer science to elementary school students at Colegio Real de Panamá, where he gained valuable experience, even though teaching had never been his primary goal.

One of the most important career opportunities he encountered came when he landed a job as a programmer for Indra in Panama. He worked there for a year and a half, gaining practical experience with modern software development practices, often from the comfort of his home due to the remote nature of the job. Yet, even as a professional programmer, Nicolás wasn't satisfied and continued learning new programming languages and technologies on his own.

Today

His hard work paid off when an even more exciting opportunity arose: a remote programming position with a U.S.-based company. Although the prospect of working in English, a language he had never spoken regularly, was intimidating, Nicolás decided to go for it. He completed three interviews and secured the job, where he now continues to learn and improve in new tools, programming languages and modern software engineering practices.

Nicolás feels incredibly grateful for both the successes and challenges he has encountered, for the support from his family, for the people he met, and for all the experiences that have shaped him. He looks forward to continuing to grow and explore new opportunities in the future.