Moscow is not Omaha, Nebraska, and the University of Idaho is not Metropolitan Community College.
John Wheeless, a junior transfer student in the virtual technology and design major, knows this first hand.
“People are so much nicer up here,” Wheeless said. “It sounds like I’m blowing smoke up someone’s ass, but I’m being legitimate and sincere.”
Wheeless grew up in Idaho Falls, but moved to Nebraska during his senior year of high school. In a sense, Wheeless said he returned home by coming to UI. He said his family lives in Idaho and he missed the area.
Wheeless moved back to Idaho Falls after his elder brother died in order to be around his family more than he would have had he stayed in Omaha.
Wheeless said his original intention was to attend ITT Tech, but after having received information on the programming, he didn’t feel like it was a good fit.
Transfer student John Wheeless works on his virtual technology and design homework on his computer Wednesday morning.
After that, he said he decided to take a few years off from school because he had no idea what he wanted to do.
“I worked for a few years for Sony Playstation … doing tech support,” Wheeless said. “From there I knew I wanted to work in videogames, specifically world building and 3D modeling.”
Wheeless said he intends to create virtual environments for videogames. When he entered the program, Wheeless said he wanted to create characters and character movement, but now he classifies himself as a digital painter.
“I want to make it look as real and gorgeous as I can,” Wheeless said. “I want to bring the natural world into the virtual world.”
Wheeless said the move to Moscow was more of a spontaneous decision. His best friend Dace told him to come up here, so he made the 10-hour drive, and Wheeless said it was an easy fit.
“Everything just fell into place,” Wheeless said.
Wheeless met his girlfriend of five months, Abby Sanders, in Moscow and said any time spent with her is time that he enjoys.
“He is high energy,” Sanders said. “If he was a dog, I’d say he was a toy breed kind of energy. And very industrious.”
Wheeless also described himself as energetic about everything he does. He said he is ambitious and adaptable as well. If he wants to know some new information about a subject, he will find it.
“He works really hard,” Sanders said. “Like he gives it 100 percent, and then even more. He doesn’t give up, ever, and when he does it’s a last ditch effort. Once he puts his mind to something, he does it. I admire that about him, because I give up too easily. That is something more people should aspire to be like.”
In his spare time, Wheeless said he plays several hours of videogames, particularly League of Legends, a popular online multi-player game, and Final Fantasy XV. Wheeless joked that his time spent playing videogames could be considered research, since it is the industry he wants to work in.
Sanders said Wheeless is also working on writing a book, a fantasy novel, in his spare time.
Wheeless said his experience so far has been mind boggling. UI has felt like another home to him, and he doesn’t plan on leaving any time soon.
“I’m already here, I know what I bring to the table,” Wheeless said. “This program will take out what I have and refine it into something better.”
Claire Whitley can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @Cewhitley24