name: Szymon Kotlarz
located_in: London, England
current_job: None xd
education: Full-time
learning_path: Medicine, Computer science maybe?
  [
    "Self-Taught Video editor and Designer",
    "GCSEs: Ten subjects from grades 8-6",
    "A-levels: Biology (A), Mathematics (A*), Economics (A*), EPQ (A*)",
    "Self-studying: Chemistry (A-level)",
  ]

fields_of_interests:
  [
    "Full-Stack Dev: Self-hosted microservices & RSS integration",
    "Digital Design: Motion Graphics & UI/UX",
    "Systems Architecture: Linux kernel optimization & Termux environments",
  ]

technical_background:
  [
    "Modder: Debugging GPU renderers (Zink) & flashing TWRP on Android",
    "Developer: Built a self-hosted News Aggregator in Python using Flask",
    "Developer: Built a PIL-based tool for dominant color extraction",
    "Essay Competition (Research on CRISPR)",
    "Peer Mentor: Lead for student safeguarding and mental health support",
    "2-Star Army Cadet: Trained in marksmanship, fieldcraft & leadership",
    "National Athlete: Self-taught swimmer (Gold) & Taekwondo (Gold) — 5x daily training cycles",

// EPQ //

    "Investigating Semaglutide as a reframing tool for obesity",
    "Researcher: Analyzed STEP clinical trials & ONS obesity datasets",
    "Manager: Led operational planning/logistics at FineThrop (2 months)",
    "Analyst: Modeled the £126bn societal cost of UK metabolic disease",
    "Neurobiology: Hypothalamic appetite regulation & GLP-1 mechanisms",
    "Health Economics: NHS productivity, NICE policy & Pharmaceutical pricing",
    "Philosophy of Mind: Hard Determinism vs. Compatibilism (Dennett/Harris)",
    "Bioinformatics: Clinical trial data analysis & effect size modeling",
    "Gene Editing: CRISPR-Cas9 applications & De-extinction ethics",
    "Macroeconomics: LRAS, government failure & taxpayer burden",
  ]

currently_learning: ["Chemistry (Self-study)", "Python for Data Science", "Docker"]

2026_goals: ["Secure University Medicine/CS placement", "Publish EPQ findings", "Build a metabolic health app"]

2027_goals: ["Secure University Medicine/CS placement"]

hobbies: 
  [
    "Taekwondo: National Gold Medalist",
    "Jiu-Jitsu",
    "Swimming: National Gold Medalist (Self-taught)",
    "Skateboarding",
    "Ice-skating"
    "Roller-skating"
    "Gym"
    "Cinema",
    "Digital Art & Design",
    "Video Editing: Making edits on After Effects and Premiere Pro",
  ]