A Computer Science Major

I had already known I wanted to be a computer science major so I got to jump right into those classes and the prerequisites required for that degree.

One of the requirements was physics. I hated that class. The teacher was an immigrant who came over fifteen years ago, if I remember correctly. The class started slowly but ramped up fast. He was a genius who always wore sweat pants and had chalk all over himself. Sometimes he would forget what language he had to teach in and think out loud in his native tongue. The class always let him continue because it was usually funny for him to catch himself five minutes later.

He was so smart, he went over everyone's heads in his lectures. The class would start with an empty blackboard and by the end of the hour class, the entire Greek alphabet would be written on the board in odd combinations. And behind each letter was a formula full of other letters. The class was more of a 'learn how to learn' experience then learning physics. But I survived. In fact we learned more than we knew from this class. Not only did we learn the Physics, we also learned how to do this kind of work on our own.

In some of my other classes, I'm told people think they are just as hard as physics was to me, but those come much easier. I'm a very detail-oriented person and that helps when programming or thinking out algorithms. My teachers and classes have really developed that skill which I'm grateful for. One of my favorite teachers in particular taught a class that really opened up the door to my major and pushed me in the right direction.

I've always liked the grading system here. Some of my CS classes have three tests, three projects, and a final; that's my grade. I always know where I stand. I disliked the mandatory mundane homework assignments that I was forced to do in high school. They never suited my learning style. Now, if I take solid notes and listen attentively, I remember what I need to know. I am my own self-assessment tool before tests. The drill and the busy work are, for me, unnecessary.

The only other grading I thought was interesting was in an English class last year. It was a class with a very cultured professor who spoke his mind and never apologized for it. My friends and I in the class always found him funny and still quote him today. The class was on war stories, and then exams usually consisted of philosophical questions revolving around the topics touched on in the books or the characters’ responses to certain events.

The tests didn’t involve reciting summaries. But rather, making emotional connections from things that I used to see as insignificant, but now I see as conversation starters. I always enjoy classes like that which offer me a new way of looking at things that I never would have thought of looking at in the first place. The stronger connection you made, the better the grade. Those were some of my favorite papers to write.

You can see that I think of myself as a happy and contented student. And I am: there's such a lot that goes on around here that's so interesting, so rewarding, and so fulfilling.