I was born with a strong desire to do good for others. Over the last three years, the career choices I have made have reflected that. In 2014, I joined the Franklin County Sheriff's Office with the hopes of becoming an investigator in one of two task forces: I.C.A.C. (Internet Crimes Against Children) or the Homeland Security/Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation human trafficking task force. I started off working in the Franklin County jails, but after two years of working I came to the realization that I couldn't live off the salary I earned. Luckily I found something that I loved which could be used for the benefit of others: software development.
Everyday after work, I would come home and study for at least three hours instead of watching TV or playing video games. When I left the Sheriff's Office, it was bittersweet. I knew I would miss the work and my coworkers, but I've been pretty happy in my software development job at Nationwide Insurance. Despite the fact that I am earning more money than I ever have before, I find that I am missing one thing. I am intrinsically motivated or more motivated by the effect of the work I do than the money I make. Yesterday, I had no intentions of applying for a job until I watched Ashton Kutcher's powerful testimony and learned about Thorn.
What is Thorn? "The thorn protects the rose." Thorn is an organization that collaborates with government and business to use technology to fight child exploitation. The simple fact of the matter is this: the criminals are technologically superior to those wishing to do good. Criminals have created vast and elaborate enterprises for selling drugs, illegal arms, and human beings. Human beings of all ages and genders are sold for the purposes of entertaining the perverse sexual desires of a very large marketplace. I had no idea how well designed these system were until I spoke with pedophiles while working at Franklin County. What is worse, however, is how widespread and profitable this industry is.
Thorn's work leverages powerful technologies in order to help victims report their abusers, provide software that helps government identify victims, and deterrence. They maintain a central database of abuse images so that large organizations can collaborate effectively with one another. One thing that struck me most on Thorn's website is that they are taking a very intelligent and holistic approach to fighting this problem. Thorn's Deterrence project (read more here) tracks those spreading exploitative material and encourages the perpetrator to find help. While this sounds like it is soft on someone who just conducted an extremely heinous crime, I can say definitively that most people who commit this type of crime cannot help themselves. Remember, the goal is to protect children and prevent these acts from happening.
Thorn's work is important. I have applied for a job there, but you don't have to be employed to do it. Thorn is a partnership of large companies as well as individuals. Anyone can contribute. If you're a developer like me, consider contributing to one of their projects! If you're not a developer, you can still help! Thorn is not just a couple of actor's pet project to make the public feel like they care about the world. Thorn has gotten results and it has been done from the heart. I'm happy to say that even though I am new programmer, I have applied for a job with Thorn. However, I'm even happier to say that I have applied to help with open source projects. I hope to see my friends and coworkers join me, but most of all: I hope I can help.
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