My group has been officially assigned and we now have our project assignment. We will be developing a K-12 Citizen Science mobile app with accompanying admin website for teachers. Although I was looking forward to working on one of the gaming-based projects, I believe this project will not only push me harder, but will also yield a more satisfying, meaningful and impactful product. As noted in my previous post, I originally decided education would be my career path, so it’s poetic that an educational project will be my final sendoff from OSU into a professional CS career.

I am coming hot off of a semester learning mobile development, so I am very excited to apply the skills I attained there while synthesizing them with my understanding of the relevant educational aspects required to provide an accessible experience for learners of all types and ages. As someone who revels in learning a multitude of disciplines and having outlets to express that knowledge, this project couldn’t be better suited for me. My final project at OSU requires that I use my prior learning of education alongside my newly acquired CS knowledge.

This week marks the beginning of my final chapter in my OSU journey, and I am feeling what my daughter calls “nervousited”. Equal parts anxiety and anticipation; I rarely feel nervous, but the prospects before me and my family at the conclusion of the OSU program do give me that sense of butterflies in the stomach. The trepidation is rivaled by the sheer excitement as I look to start a new journey as a CS professional later this year. As a life long learner, it’s no surprise that my comfort zone is in educational spheres, where I can acquire and showcase the knowledge I’ve experienced, which does give me a bit of hesitance as I don’t plan to reenter another formal education program again. My plans for continuing my life long learning revolve around real world experiential growth that can only be found in a professional, not an educational setting.