Isabella Gong, Horizons S’16

Quick intro

Your name: Isabella Gong

Age: 22

Where you’re from: Orlando, Florida

Where you study: University of Pennsylvania, Class of 2016

Majors and Minors: Cinema Studies

Three words that best describe you: quirky, persistent, compassionate

8 questions for Isabella

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

My first ever PennApps hackathon(Fall 2014) blew my mind. It was incredibly motivating to see how other teams picked up new skills overnight and turn their ideas into real apps. It made me want to be able to do the same.

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

Honestly, when I first applied, I wanted to withdraw my application as I had mistook it for a free site like Codecademy. As someone who has already taken 5 computer science courses(although I did not do as well and ultimately dropped my Computational Biology major right before senior year for Cinema Studies), I was just looking for a free refresher in hopes that one day I will no longer be scared to put my computer science skills on my resume. At this point, I did not think I was ever going to go back to computer science and was working on pursuing a career in production instead. Horizons convinced me that my passion for production and coding did not have to be mutually exclusive, but I was still unsure. Ultimately, it was the last interview with the brainteasers that finally sealed it. I realized that even though I did not do well in my computer sciences courses at Penn, I still learned the valuable skill of how to think through problems and felt that there was hope in making a comeback into computer science.

My favorite part… so hard to choose! But if I had to only choose one, it would be the instructors/TAs. They are such cool people! But it is also clear how much they invest in us. Even beyond our scheduled hours, they stay behind to help us, host review sessions on the weekend, and are always willing to help catch you up without judgement. They are also willing to go off tangents to explain things beyond the scope of the class if you find it interesting. My favorite memory so far is the long conversation about security with Moose as it left me feeling very inspired.

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

I graduated and here’s how I looked on that day!

Two years out of college, I would consider myself successful if I’m working for a start-up where I can not just code, but be able to talk to people and hopefully involve my passion for media production and sports in some way. Also, of course, playing on a competitive quidditch team. ;)

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

Quidditch will one day become a mainstream sport.

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

I was raised as a non-believer, but I started believing in God during my crazy junior year at Penn. Whether or not you believe in a God, just being able to realize that that you are a tiny dot in the grand scheme of things frees you from worrying about things(like failure, what others may think..etc) that really don’t matter in the end and allows you to focus on making the most out of the life you’ve been lucky to have.

6. What motivates you to work hard every day?

There are so many things I want to do, but life is short. I need to work hard to get my money’s worth out of it!

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

Quidditch.

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

I actually wrote a letter for the Dear Penn Freshmen project on this very subject:

http://dearpennfreshmen.com/work/#/issabel/

Here’s a slightly edited excerpt from that, but feel free to read the full version on the aforementioned site:

Don’t idolize your grades. Half of you will be in the bottom half of the class. All of you are smart kids. Focus on getting an education and studying something that interests you. Take courses outside of your major. I highly recommend taking Negotiations at some point before you graduate.

Don’t worry about getting rejected from clubs that require applications. I applied to the same organization 4 times and was rejected each time. Another reason I kept applying was because I found the application process great preparation for future job interviews as it forced me to think on my feet and conquer my fear of public speaking. Better to screw up now than after I graduate.

Join a quidditch team or start one (yes, quidditch is the only full contact, co-ed sport on campus). It’s by far the most loving community and the least judgmental group of people on campus. After all, if you’re running with a broomstick between your legs, who are you to judge? My favorite quote of all time is, “It takes a certain kind of person to run around on a broomstick. Stick with it, and you’ll realize that is exactly the kind of person whom you want to be friends with.” No experience necessary! Fun fact: quidditch is my maiden sport -I became the athlete I am today through quidditch.

Keep an open mind. I hate to admit this but when I came to Penn, I had a lot of narrow minded viewpoints. Take advantage of your brilliant classmates and hear their perspectives. Be kind -you never know what hardships they are battling at any moment and you never know who will make it big in the future. ;)

Remember that every embarrassing moment or bad moment will become a great story to tell in time.

Thank you for reading.

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