Juan Cadile may look younger than he is, but he is years wiser and brighter than the average 23-year-old. He owns his own software development company, is involved with the Hynes Institute, is an RA in Loftus Hall and just returned from Stanford University participating in a design thinking fellowship program. You’re probably now asking yourself, what doesn’t this fellow do?  

Before Cadile applied to Iona College, he already knew he was going to pursue his first love of computers, as his dad owned a computer store. Now a junior, he is in the honors program with a double major in computer science and philosophy.  

He began his business one night in 2016 after he watched a video on YouTube tutorial on how to create a website. By pulling an all-nighter, he created a website for his dad’s business and very soon he realized he opened a possibility for himself. Cadile encountered an advertising agency that needed a tech guy willing to learn. Amid gaining experience, he quickly became part of contracts with household names, like Ferrari and Maserati. 

Being an international student from Argentina, Cadile struggled with social anxiety when he first arrived on campus. With one-on-one contact, Cadile has had the most life-changing conversations with mentors and peers. However, when in a group setting, Cadile socially withdraws.  

“I always knew the American culture through the internet,” Cadile said. “So, I knew what I was getting myself into. I spent seven years learning English, but they didn’t prepare me for slang.”  

Networking is a priority for him, so he is determined to break the social anxiety curse with which he arrived. Besides Mandarin or Russian, New York slang is one of the most difficult languages to learn. Cadile was and still is on that learning curve.  

Cadile’s favorite tech items are headphones; he has them in all brands and styles, so he thoroughly enjoys the company of music. While playing the guitar and drums, he finds solace in an artistic creation other than developing software. Practicing music, Cadile doesn’t have to be perfect like a data structure or algorithm requires.  

The tycoons of the modernized tech field are often greed driven. Cadile admires how they have contributed to society, but not of their pockets and using tech for personal reasons. Yes, a payout is followed by high consumerism of your product, yet Cadile’s only intent is aiding the medically ill.  

Current health trackers on your tech products such as your smartphone or smartwatch are just not cutting it. Reliable technology for detecting illness for the everyday person is not on the market yet.  

“I just want to use tech for good, humanitarianism,” Cadile said. “I want to somehow, someway enhance people’s lives, or even better, save people’s lives.”  

His main mentor, Robert O’Connor ’72, passed away from a stroke this past February. Inspired by his philosophical studies and the recent passing of a dear friend, Cadile wants to create a program or device to constantly monitor your health statistics, e.g., heart rates and blood sugar levels, to predict life-threatening occurrences.  

The fast-paced lifestyle of NYC has enticed Cadile thus far. After he graduates from Iona, Cadile intends to pursue a master’s degree and end up residing permanently in New York. We will soon read Cadile’s advancements in the technology column of The New York Times, as we do now about his icons Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.