Hello, my name's Mina. I'm a Masters student at USC graduating with my M.S. in CS in December 2024. I also graduated from USC May of 2024 with a B.S. in CS (Games).

Like many, I got my start in games as a child. Some of my fondest memories are of me watching over my dad's shoulder as we worked through Legend of Zelda puzzles together and I cheered him on in boss battles.

Unlike others, my love for games didn't simply halt as soon as I turned off my DS. At every restaurant my parents and I went to, I would almost obsessively finish the activies on the front of the kids menu so I could flip it over and start drawing top-down level layouts and platformer levels on the back. This love for game design from early childhood carried on into my adolescence as I spent hours learning how to make games in Stagecast Creator, Scratch, and RPG Maker MV. 

Now, in my adult life, I've learned some more updated tools, including Unity and Unreal Engine 5 (as well as gained some experience in technical management as a Lead Engineer (2x) and Lead Designer). Following graduation, I'm super excited to start my true career in game development, whether as a programmer, designer, or producer (or maybe even creative director one day, if I'm so lucky).

If you'd like to chat about any of my past work or are interested in working together in the future, here is my contact information:

email: mstojano [at] usc [dot] edu

Looking forward to hearing from you!