I have completed 14 computer science classes. All that stands in the way of earning a C.S. degree from Oregon State University is CS 467, the capstone class. I am excited to start this class but also a bit nervous. While I have successfully completed 14 other computer science classes, I question whether I have sufficient coding skills to contribute effectively to a moderately complex project. As I begin scanning potential projects, my anxiety increases. Each project that I open looks beyond my skill level.

I stop my project review. I open Google’s search engine and enter “Imposter Syndrome”. A Wikipedia page is among the search results. On that page, I find the following: “Impostor syndrome, also known as impostor phenomenon or impostorism, is a psychological occurrence in which an individual doubts their skills, talents, or accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a fraud.” That sentence pretty much captures how I feel after perusing the capstone projects.

This feeling, however, is not new during my computer science journey. I felt this way the first time I read the specifications for the smallsh assignment in CS 344 Operating Systems. I had similar feelings when I first saw the Wastegram assignment in CS 492 Mobile Software Development. And for a solid week, I debated with myself whether I should drop CS 464 Open Source Software after learning that a contribution had to be submitted to an approved open source project. In each case, however, I successfully completed the assignment by simply taking it one step and day at a time. I trusted that if I put in the time and effort, I could accomplish things that seemed unattainable when first encountered. And I did.

So I go back to the projects page. I begin looking for projects that look interesting. I find one. I read the details about it and check the requirements. The minimum requirement is some experience with python. Okay, I’ve programmed in python. One down, 5 more to go. I repeat this process until I identify six projects that interest me and that I feel qualified to do.

With six projects found, I go to the survey, rank my preferred projects, and submit the survey. I now excitedly await to see which one, if any, I am assigned and who will be my teammates. While all six still seem beyond my reach to do as of today, I trust that if I put in the time and effort, it will all come together in the end.