Caitlin Rubin, Horizons S’16

Quick intro

Your name: Caitlin Rubin

Age: 20

Where you’re from: Lido Beach, New York

Where you study: University of Pennsylvania

Majors and Minors: Cognitive Science and Computer Science

Three words that best describe you: Loyal, positive, passionate

8 questions for Caitlin

1. When did you first get excited about the world of tech and entrepreneurship?

I started off college as a creative writing major — my knowledge of tech was confined to the workings of an iPhone 4. I thought I would maybe become a lawyer like my parents, so I tried out the cognitive science track, and as a part of it took the intro computer science class at Penn. I fell in love with it. I think I realized that I love the process of creating things — I just inherently see so much possibility on a blank page, no matter it’s intended language.

I first got excited about entrepreneurship when I started my website ForTheFrosh. It all started with a simple problem I was trying to fix — namely that freshmen know nothing. And it’s not their fault. What they’re presented with is a gilded version of their school from the college admissions tour. I’ve always been interested in the process of exchanging information — the so called “knowledge is power” trope. These days though, there’s such a large quantity of information out there but not a lot of quality. I realized that by amassing and organizing information about various schools, I had the potential to help a lot of people. The first day that the website launched, we reached 100,000 page views. It was a tremendously powerful experience for me for something that I’d created to be touching so many lives.

2. Why did you decide to take Horizons and what’s been your favorite part so far?

I decided to take Horizons because of it’s focus on the practical. It really aligned with my interest in creation and practical application, and I loved the idea of getting into front end development. My favorite part so far have been the guest speakers. Every single one of them has had a very powerful driving ideology beneath their work, and it’s really amazing to see what makes these brilliant, successful people tick.

3. What does a successful version of you look like on graduation day? How about two years out of college?

A successful version of myself is working on projects that she’s passionate about. I would love to have a very successful ForTheFrosh running behind me. I think every pre-freshman entering college could benefit from the site, and I want to make ForTheFrosh their number one source of information. If I’m working for a company, I want to make sure that I’m constantly being challenged and learning (hopefully at the same fast pace as Horizons!).

I’ve also been fortunate enough to have had some great female role models in tech through my sorority. A successful version of myself would be that role model to others.

4. Tell us what is one thing you believe is true that most people disagree with (the Peter Thiel question)…

I’ll answer this question with a simple thought that has been really impactful on my life:

I’ve never been in a situation that’s turned out exactly as I’d expected.

It sounds cliché, I know, but I don’t mean it in a quasi-cosmic, the universe has a plan for me kind of way. I mean that I’ve done a lot of reflecting on my life, and I’ve never once had something that I was nervous about or predicting to go a certain way indeed go that certain way. Not once.

It reminds me of a lot of things — to stay calm, to appreciate the unexpected, to leave room for error. It’s actually a very comforting thought to me.

5. What has been the most important turning point / realization in your life so far?

Last semester, I was waiting outside the office of one of my comp sci professors for office hours. The class is pretty male heavy, so most of the people around me were guys. The professor walks out, looks at me, and goes, “Are you even in this class? You don’t look like a CIS student.” There are a lot of ways he could have meant those words, but given my present company, they just didn’t sound good.

I thought about that a lot. How was I supposed to handle that situation? I could go around telling people that story, telling people to be more careful when they’re speaking, telling people this is why more women don’t go into tech, sure. Or I could ignore what he said, become a kick@ss woman in tech and help others along with me. It felt like a very important decision to choose to strive for option two — it motivates me every time I think of it.

6. What motivates you to work hard every day?

I think the reason I can be so driven is that I just love what I do. Ask most anyone who has worked with me on a comp sci problem before and they will tell you that I tend to get more optimistic as the day gets longer. I’ll be pulling an all nighter with a group and they’ll be saying “this is awful I want to quit but I can’t” and I’ll be saying something ridiculous like “look how blue the sky is this early and we’ve come so far and I’m so proud of us guys!”. That’s literally happened multiple times. I just don’t ever feel like I’m stressed out or stuck or even really working — I just know there’s a problem in front of me and I’m trying to fix it.

7. If you were going to be famous, what would it be for?

If I were famous I would hope it’d be for somehow helping others. It really makes me happy when I get an email from a pre-freshman saying that our site made them feel less anxious or better informed or more comfortable. I came from a Quaker high school so community service has been part of my day-to-day for a while now; I think it’s really important to be sharing your life with others in that way.

8. What is your advice to incoming freshmen to make the most out of their time in college?

First off — go to ForTheFrosh.com and read your school’s guide to be in the know before you go. And secondly — be open-minded! I realize that every single thing you read about college will say that, but that’s only because it’s true. You probably will be (and should be) switching majors and classes and friend groups a lot, and that’s okay. You want to make sure you’re at least attempting to find where you really fit in, and that might take a little while!

Thank you for reading.

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