What Computer Science Can Teach You
Explain something new you’ve learned as a computer science student and why it excites you. How have you applied this concept/new technology in your time as a student at UT?
Everyone has moments when they stop and catch a breath from the whirlwind of their busy lives, allowing a stray thought to catch up with them. For me, one of these moments struck me recently after a furious round of midterms, when I stopped to think about just how much I had learned during my first months at UT Austin. I came to university never having taken a CS class in high school, but I decided I wanted to become a CS major due to my love for problem-solving and mathematics. Before classes started, I felt relatively nervous about my decision but also excited and determined to encounter whatever the future decided to bring me. From where I stand now, several months afterwards, I do not regret my decision one bit. The experience of learning a new language, Java, has taught me principles that I can apply not just to my education but also to the rest of my life.
In CS312, I have learned the importance of breaking down complex problems into smaller pieces, or methods. Although I had been aware of the vast difference a good plan could make in managing issues in the past, now this concept is deeply ingrained in my mind. I now see that many issues in my daily life that used to bug me in the past can easily be broken down into manageable parts. I now, respect more than ever, the importance of a good plan in creating a streamlined, elegant solution without any loose ends.
As a coding novice, I’ve also noticed my best learning opportunities when I reach out for guidance from those who are more experienced than I am. Working with TAs on assignments and asking other students with more coding experience questions about unfamiliar concepts have been lifesavers these first few months of college. Before, I had been the type of person who was easily able to get schoolwork done on my own; rarely did I ask for help, and when I did, I felt uncomfortable. I’m grateful that I learned early on in college that asking for help is one of the best ways to learn and grow in life.
Mike Scott often uses the phrase “lightning at our fingertips” in his CS312 lectures when referring to the power a simple program has in accomplishing a wide variety of tasks. I feel that I am starting to catch a glimpse of that lightning as I continue my journey in CS. It makes me excited and curious to continue further down this path and see what more I can learn. Next semester I will be delving into the world of artificial intelligence through a research stream in the Freshman Research Initiative. I will be learning about a new programming language and concepts that are totally foreign to me once more. But this time, I feel better equipped, having gained experience from this semester and those that came before. I suppose that is the beauty of a learning journey: every little part is necessary and worth traversing in order to reach the destination.
