This past week was the first week of actual development for my part of the Science Sleuth team project. I got my hands dirty with some coding, which is always a comfortable place for me. I have enjoyed much of the different aspects of studying computer science at OSU, but nothing compares to the thrill of programming. Equal parts challenging and rewarding, frustrating yet cathartic. Although I have minimal experience hunting, especially since I haven’t been since childhood, I equate the experience of programming to being on the hunt; each coding hurdle that I overcome is like catching my ever so elusive prey. It’s what compelled me to change my career path from education to computer science…Although the salary and benefits are a welcome side effect of course.

I am in charge of developing the mobile app that students will utilize for working on the project their teachers assign them. I spent most of my time setting up basic frameworks for each screen and tab, alongside reacquainting myself with Google Firestore, which is the database we agreed upon for our project. Although I just took a mobile development course last semester, I am still a novice when it comes to programming for mobile platforms.

Due to my relative inexperience with mobile development, but my interest in learning something new, I am finding myself in my element. I look forward to every challenge I face, because that gives me an opportunity to learn, grow and overcome. As an added bonus, I am finding mobile development not only interesting, but also very relevant in today’s market. I have added mobile dev as a potential career path once I graduate, making this final project fulfilling in several ways.