Introduction
Hello everyone! It has been a long time since I’ve posted, since I’ve been busy adjusting to college life at Johns Hopkins. I came in majoring in Computer Science, but taking science classes at this school, like Biology, and seeing the passion people around me have for medicine has made me want to incorporate this interest into my major as well. Since it’s my first year, I’m still exploring, but I’m already interested in exciting interdisciplinary opportunities like the Computational Medicine minor or Computer Integrated Surgery.
So, what classes have I been taking for my Computer Science major? In the fall semester, I took Calculus II, Biology I, Introduction to Global Environmental Change, Intermediate Programming, and my first-year seminar. For the spring semester, I’m taking Calculus III, Genetics, Data Structures, Introduction to Fiction and Poetry I, and Reintroduction to Writing. As you can tell, I’ve been exploring other fields, including environmental engineering! I found that it wasn’t for me, but it was still really interesting to learn about a different major. So don’t be afraid to try new things, and take classes that you’re genuinely interested in! I want to tell you all more about my experience so far studying Computer Science at JHU.
Intermediate Programming
This class was definitely a challenge, both because of the workload and because I was learning new languages: C and C++. The classroom style was flipped, so before every class we had to watch lectures, and during class we practiced with exercises. Every week, we had homework, alternating between written and coding assignments. The coding assignments were pretty time-consuming, especially at the beginning when I wasn’t fully comfortable with the language yet.
However, it’s true that once you learn one programming language, you gain the skills needed to learn others. Each coding assignment felt like a mini project, and the midterm and final were larger-scale projects compared to the homework. For our final, we created a chess game, and for our midterm, we built an image manipulator. Using the Emacs editor was also a challenge, since that was what our professor preferred we use.
That said, I learned a lot about using Git, which is super important since computer science involves a lot of teamwork. It felt very professional to push projects and resolve merge conflicts while working with teammates. Overall, this class required a lot of time, but I learned extremely useful skills that I know will be helpful in the future.
Other opportunities
I haven’t explored many extracurriculars related to Computer Science yet, but I’ve started looking into clubs that I want to be more involved in next year. I’m already active in Women in Computer Science, which is a great club for advice and just hanging out. We also have an AI club, a software engineering club, a game development club, and more.
I recently found a club called the Brain Computer Interface Society, which would let me combine my interests in CS and science, so I plan on joining that next year. There’s also the Mars Rover Club, which builds a robot for the University Rover Challenge. I think this would be a great way to work on CS outside the classroom, especially given my robotics experience.
As for other ways to apply what we’re learning, we get a lot of emails about internships, research opportunities, and jobs, so there’s definitely something out there for everyone.
Conclusion
I hope this gave you some insight into my experience studying Computer Science at JHU so far! I’m really excited to continue exploring this major. I do think it’s a bit harder to explore different majors now because of FA (Foundational Abilities) requirements, but it’s still very possible. I hope you all continue to follow your dreams and keep an open mind!