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Fernando Vega
“If not for the Computer Clubhouse, I would not have gone to college,”says
Fernando Vega, 24. “I was confused about what I wanted and unawareof
the opportunities. Clubhouse staff and mentors opened my eyes to
career options with art, sparked my interest in learning, gave medirection,
motivated me to apply and helped me with the application process.”
Describing himself as Puerto-Rican American, Vega moved to Boston’sDorchester
from the Bronx, NY, at age 13. With Spiderman and Superman as heroes,
Fernando 
wanted
to be an FBI agent and was always drawing cartoons, inventing superheroes
and other characters. He loved comics,baseball, and video games.
In 1993, while Fernando was working on a housing project newsletter,someone suggested he go to the Computer Clubhouse to type it, which he did. With little experience or access to computers and software, he was excited to be there. “I thought I was going to learn to hack computers!” he says. Instead, he became fascinated with Japanese art and anime, learning Adobe Premiere and Photoshop, 3-D Studio Max, Macromedia Flash, Bryce 3-D software, even HTML coding. He has also worked on movies—often spoofing the Clubhouse.
A 1998 graduate of Brighton High School, Vega is now a Long Island University
senior, majoring in fine arts. His fascination with Japan took him to
Kyoto for two years to study, while also teaching English and working
at cafes. Fluent in English, Spanish, and Japanese, Vega lives with his
family in Hyde Park, MA, but plans to return to Japan in the spring, where
he hopes to earn an MA in East Asian art. Eventually, he’d like
to marry and work in an art museum, 
observing
and documenting art, and researching Japanese culture. He has learned
how to make beautiful traditional Japanese masks. His dream is to travel
the world.
At the Clubhouse, Vega has also learned a lot about life. The biggest challenge “is growing up, realizing that we must move on to the next step.” What matters is “living everyday to the fullest. The Clubhouse taught me how to interact with people. In my house talking often equaled yelling,” reflects Vega, who came to the Clubhouse two to three times a week until he was 20. “I found out how to speak normally with adults,” he says. The experience has been invaluable, according to Fernando, who has brought at least three new members to the Clubhouse and mentored others. “I really enjoy helping people in the same situation as myself,” he says.