This year brought me a lot of new and exciting experiences. I lived in a house with five roommates and while this was not my first year living on my own, it was my first year fully cooking for myself and having to maintain my own place. While COVID hindered a lot of the year's normal activities, it was still a very fun and eventful year. I spent a lot of time with my roommates, and worked out a lot which is a hobby of mine.
I started my fall semester off mostly online, which was unfortunate for the most part, but it did allow for me to work from almost anywhere on my research project. I was learning a lot during this time period, from both my research and my classes which were some of the most interesting that I have taken so far. My research exposed me to a lot of foreign concepts related to programming and biology, which I really enjoyed as I have always had a passion for both and sadly have not had a biology class since high school. One of my classes, Bitcoin and the Blockchain, was an honors experience as well and has been my favorite and most influential class so far. I learned about a lot of technology that I otherwise would never have encountered and my logic and critical thinking skills were challenged daily by concepts related to cryptocurrency and blockchains. I finished my fall semester with a much greater understanding of what my major entails and gained a lot of confidence in my choice of career path.
During my spring semester, I had my first CO-OP. I was working remotely at LCS as a quality assurance software tester. It was a fantastic experience, and my time there made me really excited to work in a software role in person soon. I learned a lot about what my career could look like, and got my first glance at what work at a software company looks like. I was challenged in ways different than I usually am during school, and sharpened my professional skills such as teamwork and communication. I found that I enjoy a lot of the aspects that come with working at a small company, and with working locally. I learned a lot from this experience, and am really excited for my next CO-OP.
I started my fall semester off mostly online, which was unfortunate for the most part, but it did allow for me to work from almost anywhere on my research project. I was learning a lot during this time period, from both my research and my classes which were some of the most interesting that I have taken so far. My research exposed me to a lot of foreign concepts related to programming and biology, which I really enjoyed as I have always had a passion for both and sadly have not had a biology class since high school. One of my classes, Bitcoin and the Blockchain, was an honors experience as well and has been my favorite and most influential class so far. I learned about a lot of technology that I otherwise would never have encountered and my logic and critical thinking skills were challenged daily by concepts related to cryptocurrency and blockchains. I finished my fall semester with a much greater understanding of what my major entails and gained a lot of confidence in my choice of career path.
During my spring semester, I had my first CO-OP. I was working remotely at LCS as a quality assurance software tester. It was a fantastic experience, and my time there made me really excited to work in a software role in person soon. I learned a lot about what my career could look like, and got my first glance at what work at a software company looks like. I was challenged in ways different than I usually am during school, and sharpened my professional skills such as teamwork and communication. I found that I enjoy a lot of the aspects that come with working at a small company, and with working locally. I learned a lot from this experience, and am really excited for my next CO-OP.