Clubs and activities
Students Helping Our Peers, Boxing, Fencing, Game Development Club, Society of International Engineers, Japanese Association, and National Society of Black Engineers are the ones I have been most active in.
Valuable hands-on learning in class
A hard choice, as I value different experiences for different reasons. SE 321 and 327 were helpful because they forced me into using languages I wasn’t already familiar with to do complex things and read others’ code in a pinch to accomplish tasks when things didn’t work out with my own. Other classes like Religion and Popular Culture and Videogames and Politics helped broaden my perspective on what a game can be about, and who and what they can inspire.
Valuable out-of-the-classroom experience
Definitely the Game Development Club’s game jams. They force you to work with new people to accomplish a large task in just 48 hours. This experience teaches problem solving, idea creation, collaboration, scope wrangling, and conflict management with a hard deadline but unlimited resources. Through it I’ve met many amazing game developers, artists, musicians, and others and made a few games that people enjoyed. I’d say this was the most beneficial part of the club for me.
Most influential mentor
Another difficult question. Professor Jeremy Sheaffer was the biggest mentor during my semesters in his classes because of how he guided me and other students to solve problems and challenge our current vocabulary and language (programming) skills. Recently, Professor Jeff Wheatly (philosophy and religious studies) and Professor Jonathan Hassid (political science) have been the most influential professors in my life because of the conversations we have had both inside and outside of classes. it’s always fun to discuss old and new topics with them, and I honestly hope to keep doing so after I graduate.
Greatest accomplishment and best memories
If this was an exam, I’d have run out of time thinking about the questions. It’s hard to say, but what first comes to mind are three things: Making an If-Else in Assembly; making my first game during the GDC game jam; and making (not) Pokémon in C/C++. All of these things were new and incredibly difficult things to do at the time, and all were incredibly rewarding to accomplish. I’m not sure I could pull any of these off again today to be honest, as the people who were around me at the time are the only reason I have these accomplishments at all. As for best memory, it’s impossible to choose between my three study abroad experiences, as all were influential in their own way, and I learned new things from each. All were valuable experiences that I will take with me wherever I go.
Plans after graduation
Currently I have accepted an offer from State Farm to work there after graduation. In a few years, I want to move to another country (probably Korea) and teach English. I want to travel and see more of the world that I missed out on during my study abroad experiences.
Engineering like a Cyclone Engineer
I think it’s the amount of resources and support Iowa State gives to engineers to help us succeed. All of the departments and people I have met in engineering at Iowa State have been working to help me graduate, and I appreciate that so much. Without the extra support from advisors and professors, I would not be graduating this semester.
What I’d tell my younger self about Iowa State
The people here move for you. They don’t just tell you to do something, they show you the path to success. Learning is never easy, never has been easy, and never will be easy, but everyone at Iowa State gives you the tools and spaces to do it. Just make sure you take advantage of all of them, and you will grow exponentially as a person and as a problem solver.
How I chose my major
I already wanted to work with software before coming here, so I chose SE because I liked the part of engineers: technical problem solvers who got stuff done. When I originally came here, I wanted to double major in BME and SE, but that proved to be impossible with Honors and GWC in addition to COVID-19, so I had to give up on that dream. I like helping people and solving problems, but have some medical problems that keep me from doing things like building houses. The only other way I could think to do that was programming, so here I am now.
Most inspiring location on campus
Probably the Memorial Union and Student Innovation Center, as both show Iowa State’s dedication to both the students as a whole, and the STEAM fields, specifically, which is where my interests lie. I got plenty of use out of both of them, and will honestly miss them when I leave.