Hello Again! In this week’s blog, I’m gonna discuss what got me interested in computer science in the first place.
So about 2.5 years ago, I was filling out med school applications and finishing the last of my prerequisites, when the unthinkable happened DUN DUN DUNNN! One of the elective classes I wanted to take in the Fall got wait-listed, like that ever happens (cue the sarcasm). But luckily, I only needed the credits for financial aid purposes. So I went back to the old course catalog to see what I could take and as I was scrolling through the list of subjects, Computer Science stuck out to me. I had never taken a computer science class before so I didn’t know what to expect. The only class I was eligible to take was Programming Fundamentals I, so I signed up for it.
Fast forward to the Fall and the first lecture was about algorithms. But it wasn’t like any lecture in our Algorithms class, it was about thinking algorithmically. The professor gave us an exercise, “write instructions on how to make a cup of coffee and make them as unambiguous as you can”. As I was writing my instructions, the professor was walking around the class reading what we were writing. He would remind us to state the temperature of the water, how much coffee to use, what method you were going to use, etc. The point was that computers only do what they’re told and it’s the programmer’s job to clear up any ambiguities when given a task.
The next lecture was when I really got interested in computer science. The professor started the class with a discussion. He asked the class what everyone is majoring in and what we would like to do after college. The professor would then go on to mention how computer science was being applied to their field. Since I was interested in healthcare, he brought up a story about a radiologist that implemented a machine learning model to help him examine x-rays. After hearing the many ways that software was being used, I could only think about all the fields I could work in. I could work in healthcare, climate change, robotics, gaming, and the list went on. Computer science sounded like a dream come true for someone who struggled to pick a STEM major in college.
Overall, that class gave me a new perspective on problem-solving and a new career path that excites me.
