How growing up at UF shaped my love of technology
Growing up, my family and friends always told me I’d make a great engineer.
When I was a baby, my mom, Barb, would sit me on her lap while she worked on our family computer. At age 4, I had mostly free rein over the internet, discovering creators like iJustine, who defined what it meant to be an influencer with technology content. But my favorite thing to do was visit my mom at work in UF’s IT department.
She’d take me to her office, where I’d make conversation with her coworkers. They would show me the latest gadgets they had their hands on — from the pivotal iPhone to the not-so-pivotal Google Glass. I got to go into the “machine room” and see what their servers looked like.
My mom always got me involved in whatever was happening on campus related to tech. I explored what is now the Marston Makerspace and MADE@UF when they first opened, complete with early smart glasses and 3D printers. I saw each iteration of HiPerGator, UF’s supercomputer, up close. My upbringing in UFIT fostered my love of technology.
So, naturally, everyone thought I would be an app developer one day. There’s just one problem: I was never interested in coding.
I later attended P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School, UF’s PreK-12 public laboratory school. My love of technology might have taken a backseat to a new love I developed: performing onstage. But my love of technology never went away.
I joined the robotics team, won nationally in the Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship and even developed a class about IT support. Outside of school, I served on Microsoft’s Council for Digital Good, sharing my experiences growing up online with company leaders — and even First Lady Melania Trump.
As I looked toward college, I thought maybe I’d study engineering or computer science, but taking Calculus II gave me second thoughts. I worried I’d let down everyone’s expectations.
Then I found UF’s College of Journalism and Communications. I saw their newsroom, where students produced real newscasts for WUFT-TV, Gainesville’s PBS affiliate. It seemed like the perfect marriage of technology and performance, with no need for coding. I was in.
As an undergraduate student, I rose through the ranks in the newsroom. But I realized quickly that I had a beat I wanted to cover: technology.
I got to start my own technology segment, inspired by my childhood hero, iJustine. I covered local video game studios and UF social media stars. My professors connected me with UF alum Bridget Carey, editor-at-large for technology site CNET, for mentoring.
The biggest tech story I covered was NASA’s Artemis I mission. My work even aired nationally on NPR. It was in the car on the way to this assignment that I found my purpose. My news director asked me why I loved covering technology so much. Without thinking, I answered, “I want to be an ambassador for all the latest tech so people don’t have to be afraid of the future.”
She almost ran the car off the road. “Write that down!” she said.
It taught me something: there’s no such thing as “working in tech” anymore. Tech is everything. It’s woven into the fabric of our society. It’s revolutionizing every industry, and we all play a part in shaping this future. My job is to introduce people to it.
Now, as a graduate student, I’ve had the chance to create an hour-long primetime special for Florida PBS stations called “WUFT at CES 2026: Megabytes and Vegas Nights.” I went to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to explore the latest technology, from robots to virtual reality. I found gadgets from Florida companies — devices that solve problems we deal with in the state.
My idol Steve Jobs once said, “Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you — and you can change it.” Growing up in the tech spaces at UF taught me this innately. I get such a thrill out of attending one of the most prestigious institutions in the world and provoking some of the smartest people in the world through my work.
I broke all the rules of what a TV news report is “supposed” to look like, combining nearly 23 hours of footage into a mix of a travel vlog, documentary and personal essay. I even got to interview my lifelong hero: Justine Ezarik, better known as iJustine.
I may have shot it in Las Vegas, but this project is the culmination of everything UF has given me since the day I was born. And it’s only the beginning.
Jacob Sedesse is a first-year Master of Arts in Mass Communications student in the UF College of Journalism and Communications, set to graduate in 2027. He graduated from UF with a bachelor’s degree in telecommunications in 2024 after most prominently anchoring “Morning Edition” newscasts on the NPR affiliate WUFT-FM. His special, “WUFT at CES 2026: Megabytes and Vegas Nights,” is now streaming for free on the PBS app.
For more information about his work, visit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T08LY9BI4rQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddwvvVkQvj4&list=PLiwYaWBCvOh9tka8pknY8znolZjXXjFYQ&index=2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLYFo47IW4E&list=PLiwYaWBCvOh9tka8pknY8znolZjXXjFYQ&index=3