Ever since I was a kid, I enjoyed working and being around computers and different types of technology. I fell in love with Apple because of how minimalistic, simple, and how sleek both the devices and brand were. I remember when I used to watch TV with my parents and an Apple commercial would come on to advertise the new iPhone, iPod Touch, or Macbook. I would beg my parents to get me an iPod Touch because I knew asking for a phone or laptop as a kid was too much. Even back in elementary, I remember how excited I would get when our teacher would bring us to the computer lab, and the room was filled with Mac computers.
That is part of the reason why I chose to go into Computer Science and became interested in Software Engineering. At first, I hesitated because the major demographic was men. Discouraged, I looked at different career paths like becoming a Nurse or Lawyer. I always made it my goal to get a well-paying job so that I could give back to my parents for all that they have sacrified and the hours of work they have put in to provide for me. Looking at other careers didn’t satisfy me as much as Computer Science did. I wanted to be able to get a job that made me happy and excited when I woke up. After talking with my peers, I later found out how many of these companies are actually looking for diversity, and that was when I decided to commit to my dream. Some may call it, healing my inner child, and to be honest, I currently feel like a kid in a candy store.
Some skills and experiences that I plan on developing are my problem-solving skills and expanding my array of coding languages. So far the only coding languages I know are Java, C, C++, and I just started learning Javascript. I want to get to know the basics of Python, HTML, or any other programming languages that catch my interest down the road.
As for developing my problem-solving skills, the practice WODS and actual WODS we do in class are helping me improve that aspect of my skills. Especially real-life problems and doing it under a time limit. I believe these skills will definitely be beneficial to me later in my college career and even in the work field. I also hope to make many connections with professors, mentors, and classmates so that I can make a plan when looking for internships and other opportunities.