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Seasider Spotlight: Geoffrey Draper

Geoffrey Draper, a professor of computer science from Michigan, shares about his life, pursuits, and interests.

Portrait of Geoffrey Draper
Dr. Draper poses next to his favorite old computer, the Commodore 64.
Photo by Bilguun Enkhbaatar

Name: Geoffrey Draper

BYUH Employee since: 2009.

My job at BYUH is: a professor of computer science.

I grew up in... Michigan.

Alumni of... BYU in Provo and the University of Utah.

I'm currently working on... learning JavaScript. Along with HTML and CSS, it's one of the big three languages of the web. Many employers expect their incoming employees to know it. So, I want to learn it better so I can effectively teach it to our students.

I chose to teach at BYUH because... I love the Church Educational System and the ideals it represents. I spent some of the happiest years of my life as a student at BYU in Provo, so I wanted to work in an environment like that. I got a Ph.D. specifically so I could be qualified to teach at a BYU school. I chose BYU–Hawaii initially because its weather is nicer than Utah's and Idaho's, but I soon fell in love with its special mission to build the kingdom of God in Asia and the Pacific.

Portrait of Geoffrey Draper
Photo by Bilguun Enkhbaatar

My favorite thing about teaching... is seeing students use their programming skills and creativity to build their own pet software projects, beyond what we do in class.

The best-kept secret at BYUH is... the movies.byuh.edu website. They have so many licensed movies you can stream for free without ads.

Best advice I've ever received about teaching... I attended a talk by Randy Pausch back in 2003 (a very famous CS professor at Carnegie Mellon University, who has since passed away), and he said something to the effect of "Those who think education and entertainment are different things, don't know very much about either education nor entertainment." I'm paraphrasing, but that's the gist. Ever since then, I've tried to make my classes as entertaining as possible so that students will remember and learn.

My most cherished memory at BYUH... seeing my daughter Christiana perform a musical number at devotional.

My advice to incoming first-year students is... go to free concerts and plays while you can. Out in the real world, you have to pay money to attend cultural events.

My favorite lecture/course to teach is... IT440, Human-Computer Interaction. We have a lot of fun in that class, and the students come up with such creative projects.

When my parents got a Sinclair ZX81 computer, and later a Commodore 64 computer, and I tried writing programs for them, that... sparked my interest in my field.

The next big trip I'm interested in... This coming summer, Sister Draper and I are taking our kids to the mainland to see Church history sites.

You'll never find me without... my Franklin Planner. It's my favorite way to stay organized.

Portrait of Geoffrey Draper
Dr. Draper spent his childhood writing programs for the Commodore 64 computer.
Photo by Bilguun Enkhbaatar

If I could travel anywhere, I would go to... France because... it's my mission country, and I love the people, the language, the culture, and the food.

When I have 30 minutes of free time... I'll practice French on Duolingo.

One item on my bucket list is... to go to the National Library of France, in Paris, and search through old magazines to find and digitize rare poems by Anna Livebardon, my favorite French poet.

My favorite hike on the island is... Hauula Loop. The scenery is breathtaking at the summit.

Favorite ice cream flavor... Mackinac Island Fudge. It's a specialty in my home state of Michigan.

Do you collect anything? Old computer hardware. Computers in the 20th century were just so cool.

Ideally, how would you spend your birthday? I would work on one of my many programming projects.

Draper typing on his Sinclair X81
A close-up shot of a Commodore 64, identical to the one Dr. Draper used as a boy.
Photo by Bilguun Enkhbaatar

If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be? Thai green curry.

What are your hobbies, and how did you get into them? I love to make modernized rewrites of the classic video games I played as a kid. I'm currently working on the O'Hare's Adventure trilogy. It's a series of text-based games written in 1980 for the Commodore PET computer. I'm re-making them as apps for Android devices.

I'm currently reading... the biography of Ezra Taft Benson, by Sheri Dew. I love reading the life stories of Church leaders. They are so inspiring.

My favorite quote is... My Franklin planner has a new inspiring quote every day. I love so many of them, that it's hard to pick a favorite. But here's one that I think has been true in my life: "The line between failure and success is so fine that we ... are often on the line and do not know it. How many a man has thrown up his hands at a time when a little more effort, a little more patience, would have achieved success." - Elbert Hubbard

On Saturday mornings, you'll find me... making waffles for my six kids.

The biggest challenge I've faced was... being called as a bishop of a TVA ward. I didn't think I could ever measure up to that lofty calling. But it's been one of the greatest joys of my life, for the past three years.

I'm most looking forward to... serving a senior mission with my wife, as soon as I retire from BYUH.