This is me!

Fall Quarter
2023-2024

Artifact #1

Prioritizing Patients Programming Project

Spec for the project

Part of the console output

Prioritizing Patients Programming Project was the 6th coding assignment for my class "Intro to Computer Science 121". We had to code an algorithm that helped sort patients into three levels of priority to help a hospital know who to help first. I was really excited during this project because I felt like I could see the practical application of this in the "real" world. More so, it combined several of my passions, including technology, medicine, and equity. This assignment prompted me to think about how algorithms can be biased and how programmers (like myself) have a responsibility to train themselves to avoid biases. In the future, using code to assist in a medical setting is something I am interested in and this assignment makes me excited for the different possibilities computer science has to offer. Although I enjoyed this project, it definitely had its challenges. I spent over six hours coding and debugging this project. One thing I have had to practice a lot this quarter is patience in myself. However, I also know when it is time to ask for help; I often found myself coding in the Introductory Programming Lab (IPL), which is essentially TA office hours. In the IPL, TAs help debug code and explain concepts. The IPL has been a valuable resource for me this quarter and I will continue to utilize the IPL for the rest of the intro to computer science series.

Artifact #2

First (Math) Midterms

Part of my midterm 1 reference sheet

Practice midterm problem

My first college midterm didn't exactly go how I wanted. I didn't do "bad" but for the standards I had for myself, it felt like I did bad. This quarter, I needed to reassess the expectations I had for myself as well as how I view grades. I have always felt that learning is ultimately the most important thing but sometimes seeing a score on a test can make me forget that. Although I still struggle with this, I have grown. In high school, seeing that I got a 72 on a math midterm would have made me feel horrible. Now, I look at it more like this: could I have done better? Yes, but instead of focusing on that solely, I also ask what do I still need to learn or understand better? What did I do well? Ultimately, my goal is to work to understand, not to get a good grade for a test I crammed for, forgetting its contents the moment time is up. This midterm also had me change how I studied for my next math midterm. I studied more with peers for the second test and I did at least three times as many practice problems to prepare. I realized that while I understood a lot of the concepts, I had trouble applying them in different types of problems. Therefore, I went through as many past midterms as I could to prepare. However, some things I did to prepare for the first exam worked well for me, like how I formatted my reference sheet. I made sure to add examples and key notes to my reference sheet for my second math midterm. In the end, when I focused less on the grade and more on the concepts, I actually achieved a better grade (on midterm two)...funny how that works.

Artifact #3

Peaks and Professor Hike

Peaks and Prof Website

Lightning, biology, and cafe.

How might these three words connect you ask?

Well...

I went on a hike with Peaks and Professors (a UW student organization)! The premise of the club is to be active, enjoy nature, and learn outdoors. You hike with a small group of other students along with a professor who talks about the classes they teach and the research they conduct.

We were supposed to hike Heather Lake, a 4.0 mile roundtrip hike. However, after hiking less than a mile, we all saw a flash of light very close by, and soon, a boom of thunder followed. Needless to say, we turned around and went back down the mountain. Although this hike wasn't what anyone expected, we adapted to the scenario and did what was best for our safety.

For me, this hike was already out of my comfort zone because I had never hiked during the rainy season. We had to walk through literal streams of water and it was downpouring almost the entire time we were hiking. I was proud of myself for trying something new.

The professor that was with is in UW's biology department. It was very enlightening to hear about her work with aquatic life and the warming temperatures of the ocean, and how the latter affected the former. She also talked about how engineering was crucial for her research as well and mentioned colleagues that I could reach out to, as they did work with computer science and other natural sciences (such as neuroscience). This hike was not only a way to do a hobby I enjoy but also learn outside the classroom and network with my peers and a professor.

As for the danish...after we ended our hike early, we found a cute local cafe where the professor kindly bought all of our treats (including my danish).

This experience is definitely one for the books.