Why UC Merced?
Originally, UC Merced was not one of my top choices. However, I ended up staying here because of my access to both research experiences and the study abroad program. My time had UC Merced has had both positive and negative experiences that helped shaped me into a more well-rounded person.
Why Your Major?
I always knew that I wanted to become a programmer from a young age because growing up, I loved video games. Although my 8 year old dreams of becoming an Esports player died pretty quickly, making games was one of the few ways I could express my creativity and actually build things in the small apartment we called home. It was from this experience programming as a young child that I knew that I wanted to become a Software Engineer as my career.
Inspiration and Mentors
I'd like to thank Professor Zenaida Aguirre-Muñoz and my supervisor, Chen (Joyce) Liu, for giving me the space to grow and develop my skills working as a Research Assistant in her lab. I'd also like to thank Adam Weingram, for giving me the opportunity and mentorship to grow my skills working with HPC technologies during my time working with the IndySCC team organized by Xiaoyi Lu.
Memorable Academic Experience
The highlight of my UC Merced experience was definitely when I studied abroad in Singapore. Going to see a variety of people and ideas, not just from a foreign country, but meeting with other students from abroad all over the world was an amazing formative experience.
Academically, being able to participate in research helped me grow. Knowledge is everywhere on the internet, but having tasks and pressure put on you can push you to be a much better engineer than just studying alone.
What's Next?
I don't know. While I originally wanted to graduate and work in industry, I enjoy the process of studying a subject deeply and really trying to put together how it works. So right now, I'm deciding trying to figure out how I can work for a few years then go into PhD.
