Throughout my life up until my sophomore year in college, I never pictured myself in technology, especially computer science. My freshman year in college was filled with moments of questioning what my purpose is. All of my friends and classmates appeared to have a set pathway – business, medicine, engineering, etc. Did they choose these pathways because of their passions? Admittedly, I did not have any passion. I discussed these thoughts to my dad, and he suggested technology such as computer science or software engineering. He emphasized that there is a “lack of women in tech,” which sparked my interest.
I researched many topics regarding women in technology and found out that only 23% of software engineers are women. After researching, I concluded that women in technology such as software engineering are underrepresented. This underrepresentation prompted me to give computer science a shot. I took an introductory course to computer science during my freshman year, and I was immediately intrigued on how everything unfolded. Knowing there is so much more to computer science, I became curious and wanted to learn more, so I decided to commit to ICS.
Admittedly, transitioning to computer science was not an easy step, especially with my lack of experience. In all of my ICS classes, it seemed like everyone had experience before college, so I had a constant feeling of being one step behind. The topics were hard for me to comprehend, but I had this desire to continue learning – I still wanted to learn how websites and apps are developed.
Admittedly, this ICS 314 course introduced me to software engineering, and I had to look up the actual definition of software engineering. I realized that this is a subject I see myself enjoying. When I was a kid, I use to create random websites, with a template of course, and design different blogs for fun. While designing my professional portfolio, I had this flash of nostalgia and interest in learning more about the front-end development of UX/UI design. This course unlocked a new section of my brain where I had to intertwine creativity with logic. During this course, I hope to learn more on web development using JavaScript. In addition, I want to develop a skill in this course that will make a difference in future projects and collaborations.