« Back to Home

Timothy J Parenti

Photo Credit: William Burroughs IV
A photo of me from an end-of-year party on 13 December 2007. (I know full well I need a newer one.)

Greetings. I am Tim Parenti, a 25-year-old graduate student who might best be described as an "overall enthusiast" in just about everything.

I was born in Erie, Pennsylvania on 4 January 1988 (during what I'm told was quite the snowstorm) and attended Girard High School, from which I graduated as salutatorian on 8 June 2006. I graduated cum laude from the Swanson School of Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh's main campus on 18 December 2010 with a BSE in Chemical Engineering, an undergraduate certificate in Nuclear Engineering, and a minor in Music.

Currently, I am a graduate student in the Department of Computer Science at Pitt's Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences, working toward earning an MS in Computer Science in 2014. In the Spring 2013 term, I am a part-time instructor for the department's "Software for Personal Computing" course, CS 0131.

Family

My family consists of my mother, who works for Saint Vincent Health System; my father, who is a dentist; and a 21-year-old brother, David, who studies at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College.

Interests

My interests can be considered either widely varied, well-rounded, or both. I often take particular interest in the kinds of little things that seem not to interest many others.

Music, however, is a big part of my life. I have been playing the piano since 1994 and the trumpet since 1998, and I have sung in various choirs since 2000. In high school, I participated in a five-octave handbell choir from 2003 to 2006, while my instrumental and choral achievements earned me several PMEA honors, including fifth chair at All-State Chorus in 2006.

Throughout my undergraduate study, I continued to exercise my musical talents through active involvement in the University's marching band, symphonic band, and pep band, as well as in the Heinz Chapel Choir. As an alumnus and graduate student, I remain active with the Pitt Band Alumni Council, of which I have been treasurer since 2012.

I have also pursued my musical interests by composing original musical works since 2001, mostly piano soli, although I have also written a piano-trumpet duet as well as several arrangements for my hometown church's two-octave handbell choir.

Hobbies

In my spare time, I maintain websites and administer Facebook pages for various clients, including my hometown's public library, FootSteps of Erie County, and Lambec Music Camp. My past work has also included maintenance of sites for the Heinz Chapel Choir (2007–2010), the University of Pittsburgh Varsity Marching Band (2008–2009), and the Girard High School Marching Band (2002–2006). I've also kept a personal blog, albeit a poor one, since 2005; I'm hoping to get better, but that's far from the first time I've said that.

When time and weather allow, I have also been found enjoying walking, running, riding my bicycle, and geocaching. The key here is time.

Random stuff

  • I'm reasonably autodidactic. I've also taken a few MOOCs through Udacity to help augment my formal education in Computer Science.
  • It irks me when perforated paper fails to tear at its perforations. This applies broadly to everything from notebook paper to toilet paper.
  • Like a sizable minority of the population, I have the photic sneeze reflex. At times, it's actually helpful; at others, it's utterly annoying. If you see me sneezing a lot, it's probably not allergies or an illness; it's probably just bright.
  • My views on politics, religion, and related topics are quite complex. Although such opinions do make their way to the Internet, please know that no one part of them constitutes the whole. As such, I will not detail them here.

Text last updated on 5 January 2013.

Learn more: