This week has very much been the calm before the storm.

What did you do this past week?

This past week I got sick, which was probably due to the fact that I have not been getting as much rest as I should be (in no small part due to this class). However, as I still had a lot of responsibilities to take care of, I had to press on full speed ahead this week. I worked on some assignments and started my undergrad teaching assistant job.

On a happier note, I was lucky enough to receive 6 internship offers for next summer, so I have been spending a large amount of time talking to friends and recruiters to decide which internship would be the best for me and weighing the pros and cons.

What’s in your way?

The API for our website is still not complete, and I am waiting for progress by other team members to be able to get our website serving dynamic data. This has been in our way for over two weeks now and has been a huge blocker for our ability to progress in the software engineering project. Specifically, I need to able to access the API when working on the frontend, as currently, I am just loading in static data, and there is nothing dynamic about the content that we are currently serving on the website.

What will you do next week?

This week is going to be a doozy. I have an algorithms and journalism exam on Monday, an assignment to grade, and the next phase for the software engineering project due on Thursday. Add in the fact that I am still a bit under the weather, and overall just physically exhausted, and I know that this week will be very trying for me. I am really depending on my teammates to be able to help tie everything together for our project so that we will be able to finish everything on time.

What was your experience of SQL?

I have used basic SQL before, as I originally began developing websites using PHP and MySQL. However, I never had a solid SQL foundation, so it has been great to be able to learn it the ‘proper’ way. SQL has a very logical way of expressing things, which makes it easier to grasp than many other CS tools and technologies.

What’s your pick-of-the-week or tip-of-the-week?

My tip of the week is to go to hackathons! I attended HackTX this weekend (briefly), and was reminded by how much I enjoy attending hackathons. The opportunity to learn new technologies and make cool projects is not a chance that I get too frequently, so I try to take advantage of it whenever possible. Furthermore, I have made many friends at hackathons, as well as teammates that I really enjoy working with.

Levi Villarreal

Written by

I write code + more!

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade