Elementary school doesn’t often have much impact on a person’s career choice. But for Christopher Vilag of Gibraltar, one experience helped determine his decision to pursue a career in computer science.

“I was part of a team that built the web site for our school. That started it all,” Vilag said.

A graduate of Carlson High School in Gibraltar, Vilag, 18, says his activities during high school helped him secure the EMU Alumni Scholarship. He is an Eagle Scout, participated in SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions), and played snare drum in the school’s marching band. He has not abandoned those interests, either. He is an assistant leader in Boy Scouts and plays guitar and drums with friends in a band they have named “Clutch First.”

Academically, along with his computer talent, Vilag has always been a math whiz. He is pursuing a minor in math along with his computer science major. A high school math teacher inspired his love for math, he said.

One reason he chose EMU was its computer science programs. “One of the main things I looked at on the EMU computer science web site is all the internships and job offers they had,” he said. But he also selected EMU “because I’ve just always felt really comfortable there, more than other campuses I’ve been on.”

Vilag’s father, Ronald (’79), is finance manager for an equipment company. His mother, Janet (’78), teaches physical education for Gibraltar Public Schools, and owns Janet’s School of Dance in Taylor.

Vilag is in EMU’s Honors College and received the Board of Regents Scholarship in addition to the alumni scholarship.

“I was really excited,” he said about receiving the scholarships. “It’s going to help pay for my college. I’ve been trying to pay as much for my college myself as I can and these will go a long way.”  He also plans to find a job this fall on campus.

He identifies computer programming right now as his career, but he knows that in computers, the future is now, so he plans to keep his eyes open for new directions in computer science.