Welcome to My Website!

Who I am

My name is Tom Sharp, I'm a programmer, game developer dancer, and musician. I'm currently studying computer science and music at OSU. This website is meant to be a sort of portfolio for my projects and achievements, etc. Here's a little but about me:

I'm a game developer:

I've been working as an independent game developer since 2020, but my love for games started much earlier, around age 12. Back then, I stumbled upon Scratch, a simple drag-and-drop coding tool. It might seem basic, but for me, it was like discovering a hidden world. I started by creating small animations using my own drawings, and before I knew it, I was building full-fledged games. I really dove into Scratch and became quite skilled, but life took me in a different direction.

Then, during my junior year of high school, I rediscovered my passion for game development. This time, I wanted to go bigger: Unity. I remember the first time I opened Unity; it was overwhelming, complex, and completely new. So I closed the application and left it closed for 6 months. However, I was determined. I wanted to make games again, and nothing was going to stop me. Two years later, I released my first game: Smiley's Starship (you can play it under the Projects tab!). Since then, I've been honing my skills and creating even better games, and I'm planning to keep doing this for a long time

I'm a dancer:

My dance journey began in 2010 when I was six. Interestingly, I wasn't the dancer in my family; my sister was. One day, while waiting in the lobby during her class, the studio owner asked if I wanted to try tap. I was curious, so I said yes, and that single decision changed everything. From that moment on, I was hooked. I practiced every free moment, striving to get faster, cleaner, and sharper.

A year later, I started competing, and those were some of the best years of my life. Performing, making friends, winning; it was exhilarating. My dance partner, Naomi, and I became a formidable duo. People would ask if we were competing just so they could avoid facing us! Even years after leaving the competitive scene, I still hear stories about our performances.

I was quite determined on stage: costume mishaps, forgotten routines, injuries, and illness; you name it, I tackled it all. But nothing could hold me back. Later, as I stepped away from competing, I embraced teaching. I TA'd every class I could, choreographed for competitions, and even triumphed with my choreography. In 2018, I taught my first class, and by 2022, I was leading my own tap program. Today, I lead the tap program at Oregon State University as the youngest faculty member there. Computer science might be my main focus, but performing arts? That's where my heart truly lies. If I had the chance, I'd trade all the CS work for a full-time career in performing.

I'm a musician:

Like many kids, I started music in elementary school with the recorder. We had this "Recorder Karate" system, where we earned belts by mastering songs. I worked my way up to a black belt by playing Ode to Joy. It might seem simple now, but back then, it was a huge accomplishment.

In middle school, I picked up the tenor saxophone, but it didn't really spark my interest; I was stuck playing background parts. I craved the spotlight. So, I switched to the oboe, and that completely changed everything. Today, I play oboe for OSU and even minor in music performance. Along the way, I've explored other instruments: the drum kit was a big one; but now, I'm all about the oboe. It's challenging, rewarding, and honestly, a lot of fun.