Alumni Q&A Insights
My biggest takeaway from today’s alumni Q&A session has been the sheer usefulness of computer science and its far reaching practical use potential. Specifically, many of the alumni who spoke today mentioned that they were not strictly majoring in computer science. Many of them were majoring in other STEM fields such as mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, cognitive science, or others. However, in every case the alumni really emphasized how despite the fact that their major isn’t specifically in computer science, they manage to use computer science in their major. Learning this really made me realize the practicality of learning foundations of computer science. In an increasingly technology driven world, computer science has begun to make its impact on all sorts of other fields of study. For example, one of the alumni discussed how they had been using skills they learned in computer science in order to analyze flight data at Northrop Grumman. Despite not majoring in computer science, this alumni’s computer science skills allowed them to access opportunities that would have otherwise likely been unattainable. This is just one of many examples of the practical use cases of computer science that go beyond just majoring in computer science. Thus, it is critical for people to develop foundational skills in computer science in our technology driven society.
Another key takeaway that I got from today’s alumni Q&A session has been just how important APCSP and APCSA are for developing foundational computer science skills. I have managed to develop a newfound appreciation for the skills that I have learned and developed over my experience in both APCSP and APCSA thus far. Many of the alumni had discussed how they viewed APCSP and APCSA as a gateway for them into the world of computer science. Now that I am taking the time to reflect on my own experience in APCSP and APCSA thus far, I can safely say that I feel the same way about these courses being instrumental to developing the fundamentals of computer science. I believe that these classes have taught me the core understandings and skills of computer science that I will need in order to pursue computer science at a higher level. Tying back into the fact that the applications of computer science are becoming increasingly diverse, it only seems natural for me to work on developing my key understandings of computer science so that I can eventually apply my knowledge to real world scenarios.