For my last year, I challenged
myself to take on the legendary CS5 course "Introduction to Computer
Science" at Harvey Mudd taught by Professor Zachary Dodds. As part of Mudd's
Common Core curriculum, CS5 is taught in Python and introduces computational
techniques, theory, and societal and ethical issues. To me, Dodds was a
character who overflowed a room with his enthusiastic charisma. I admired his
hearty approach of entertaining demonstrations and hilarious references to
"42", aliens, and Star Trek. He effectively taught design,
implementation, and documentation with the element of wonder. Surely, it was
his attitude that assuaged my fears and hooked me to the technical field. I
jumped towards the Operations Research major in the 3-2 Combined Engineering
Program with Columbia University, which required me to switch to an
introductory course in Java. This course asked probing, non-trivial questions
teaching creative problem-solving procedures and demonstrated efficient and
brilliant algorithms. With each problem set, I learned more about technological
innovations and realized how powerful computer science can be. My time with
Python and Java had been pivotal. I personally came across the most witty and
personable people who, in such a demanding field, have some of the best
attitudes. These people taught me that process is more important than the end
result and helped me internalize genuine work ethic and the values of collaboration.
In October, I had the privilege
of attending my first Harvey Mudd Career Fair. I attended special Tech Talks to
hear representatives speak about their companies' unique culture and projects. I
could feel the emphasis on a productive and encouraging work environment to
foster innovative values and engaging work dynamic. Quickly after, I joined the
Women of the Association of Computing Machinery (W-ACM) to partake in
thought-provoking dinner discussions of internship, interview, and culture
experiences.
W-ACM convinced me to compete in
my first Hack-a-Thon where I programmed a GRE vocabulary game in Java. With
only two months of programming experience, I made the right decision to take
the risk of putting myself through this 24-hour coding challenge. Before then,
I participated in Hack Week, a computer science boot camp that took place
before the tournament. The way that the Hack-a-Thon promoted collaboration,
innovative creativity, and encouragement made me appreciate the competition. I
continued on to volunteer as a Core Values Judge for the FIRST Lego League, a
robotics tournament for youths, hosted at Harvey Mudd College. My role was to
push for teamwork and creativity to girls and boys.
Through these experiences, I fell
in love with how organizations and companies are making a movement to remove
the stigma of the technical field as tedious and male-dominated. With strong
leadership background and curiosity for technological innovations, I aspire to
become a project or product manager working with passionate and talented
individuals to dedicate our lives to not just great, but greater ideas.
--
January, 2014
Chloe Shih
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| Women, Pedagogy and Technology Talk at the Claremont Colleges |
January, 2014
Chloe Shih
