One of my close friends, Andrea Stanko (senior, computer science) is hoping to graduate this May. She is the most intrinsically motivated person I know to this date. She grew up in Guam, a US territory, with her parents and little sister, whom she mentors. She graduated high school at age 16 and is finishing her 4-year bachelor’s degree in 3 years. Studying computer science has allowed her to increase her leadership abilities and requires her to combine many different conceptual ideas, and we can see the hard work that goes into this discipline.
Give us a short description of what it means to be a computer science major!
In my opinion, being a computer science major means that I’m combining mathematics, code, and theory in order to create efficient and cost-effective programs.
You have some big goals, such as planning on graduating at 19 and being a woman in STEM. What helps you stay motivated?
It can get pretty hard to stay motivated, especially right now, since I’m senior slumping pretty hard. But one of the things that helps me most is looking at how much progress I’ve made and realizing that I only have a little bit further to go!
I know you had an internship in computer science, so can you briefly describe your experience?
Over the summer, I worked as a robotics embedded software engineering intern for a medical manufacturing company up in Kalamazoo (about an hour from Berrien Springs). I worked with MAKO, a robot that performs joint surgeries on its own. At the internship, I mostly unit tested legacy code, which is just making sure that it won’t break. I also created object detection programs that provide warnings to doctors and engineers testing the robot, and another one that makes instances of a logging event specific.
Have you experienced any adversity due to being a woman in a male-dominated field? If so, please explain.
Fortunately, at school or in the industry, not really, besides maybe a side comment… but I have had some people very close to me tell me I should switch to a more “feminine” major, like nursing or education, which, there’s nothing wrong with obviously, but it’s not for me.
Briefly describe the activities you are involved in and what they mean to you.
The activity that I’m most involved in is probably TAing, specifically, I TA for computer science I and computer science II. I love being able to help people, and seeing some of the students discover new things and have everything click is one of the coolest things!
What is your favorite coding language? Why?
Definitely Python, I love Python. Since I’ve done a lot of machine learning, I’ve seen a lot of the open-source resources python has for that, and it definitely surpasses any other language in that area in my opinion.
What makes you attracted to Computer Science?
Initially, I was attracted to computer science because of the potential income I could make, and although that’s still definitely a factor, I’ve grown to love the fact that I can work to help advance technology that’ll help other people.
What are your plans for after you graduate?
My plans for after graduation aren’t too specific, so right now, it’s mostly just getting a job, and getting a cat once I move into whatever apartment I get.
What advice would you give other young women who are interested in being computer science majors?
Don’t let anybody’s comments hold you back, although it can get very difficult at times. [I’m] looking at you, MATH 355, though I loved the class. It does get easier, and before you know it, you’ll be graduating and working your dream job.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of 老司机传媒. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, 老司机传媒 or the Seventh-day Adventist church.