Name: Fredrick Galoso
Bio: Anecdotalist, data wrangler, developer, operations engineer, graphic designer and guitarist. Currently a Computer Science and Management Information Systems student at the University of Iowa. New York born, Iowa raised.
Title: Co-founder, Stackd
Thanks to our sponsor
Age: 20
Residence: Iowa City, Iowa
Website: fredrickgaloso.me
Twitter: @wayoutmind
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/fredrickgaloso
Intro music: “Something Good Can Work” by Two Door Cinema Club
Silicon Prairie News: What does your typical schedule look like when you’re juggling school, Stackd, KRUI, Bridgestone and — if there’s any time left — enjoying your waning time as a college student?
Fredrick Galoso: Believe it or not, it’s not too bad. I schedule my classes to be as one big block as much as possible, and usually I get done with class each day before 1 p.m. Then from 1 to about 5 every day I devote time to day-job type activities. After that, I split time with homework, extracurriculars, Stackd and hanging out with friends until I go to sleep. It can take a lot of focus and discipline, but it’s amazing how much you can get done. I’m all about maximizing life.
SPN: What did it mean for you to have Stackd honored as the Student Innovation of the Year at the Prometheus Awards?
FG: Honored and humbled. In the short time we’ve been around, hearing how we’ve helped our customers makes it all worthwhile in itself. However, winning the award has opened up opportunities to learn and connect with people we look up to and have been there done that. Being an entrepreneur is hard enough, being a student at the same time that much harder. It is nice to get just a little bit of validation and motivation for the work we do at Stackd.
SPN: As the technology director at KRUI, what have you done to push innovation while working with a medium (radio) that’s not necessarily renowned for being cutting edge today?
FG: Being a college radio station, our listenership is already young. That means pushing initiatives like developing a new website, an upcoming mobile application and internet radio is easy; students are already receptive of these things. As the university’s second largest student organization (over 300 students and community members) and a small paid directing staff, I’ve put tools in place to do things at KRUI much like many lean startups.
SPN: You’ve had a hand in Iowa’s “I Am Tippie” campaign. Can explain the idea behind the campaign and how you’ve helped bring it to fruition?
FG: The “I Am Tippie” campaign is a for students by students effort to support College of Business programs in the same spirit of philanthropy as the college’s namesake alumnus, Henry B. Tippie. I was commissioned by the college’s Marketing Institute to design the branding and promotional materials for the campaign. It was a fun project, and it’s definitely cool to see the posters, banners and artwork I designed everywhere in the college.
SPN: As an avid guitarist, how does your work with the axe help you as a software developer, and vice versa?
FG: Playing guitar is a great way to take a few moments away from whatever I’m working on. I got my co-founder Stephen to start after our freshman year, so the periodic “jam session” is a welcome relief. Guitar playing, or any form of musicianship, takes practice and focus, two things that translate well to the craft of developing software.
Credits: Photo courtesy of Galoso.
Prairie Portraits: To learn more about this series, see our introduction post, or visit our archives for past Prairie Portraits. To suggest an individual for a future Prairie Portrait, contact editor@siliconprairienews.com.
Prairie Portraits are brought to you by Hudl.
We’re a young gang of nerds, marketers, designers, and former jocks who love sports and tech. Where the two meet is our playground. People always tell us, “You guys must have so much fun.” We do. Want to work with us? Check out our current openings: www.hudl.com/jobs.
