My personal philosophy of learning is centered around a hands-on experiential learning style integrated with a classroom learning style. This is the environment in which I retain the most knowledge because I relate the information gained from my courses at the University of Hawaii at Manoa to their respective applications in labs, internships, and other interactive learning settings. Even in high school, my favorite classes were AP Physics and Advanced Mixed Media, both of which engaged the students in experiential learning. The majority of classes that I excelled in were science courses such as chemistry and physics which integrated lab experiments into the classes as a way of offering hands-on learning approaches. This is why I gravitated more towards a science based major in the first place.
Since the high school I attended did not offer any computer related courses, I did not realize my interest in software engineering until I was exposed to programming in my freshman year of college as an electrical engineering major. Eventually, I switched majors and the more I studied, the more I realized how computer engineering aligned with my interests and preferences that I’ve always had like my love of solving word problems/riddles and my preference of working in teams. I enjoy being able to use my programming skills to solve problems that can positively impact the society. I know that I made the right decision in switching to computer engineering, although I do wish that I had started studying computer engineering related topics earlier in my life.
Now that I have defined my interests, I have clearer future goals. I hope to become a software engineer who makes people’s lives better by helping others achieve their goals, making arduous tasks easier, providing entertainment, and through the many other ways computer engineers can help solve problems. More specifically, throughout my academic career, I hope to learn more programming languages and actually utilize them in projects rather than just learn their syntax. I’m looking forward to more group project experiences with friends and classmates that will help me learn new concepts!