CS @ Illinois: First Semester

I’ve been meaning to do this for a while.

Writing has always been a more subtle interest of mine; something that I’d indulge through throwaway Reddit accounts and mini op-eds that would never be published anywhere. Although, I’ve never written anything like this, so this should be interesting.

I’m not entirely sure what a blogpost is supposed to entail. I’m not even sure if anyone would be interested to read about my life. But, I do enjoy describing my ideas and writing about my experiences. So, for this first post, I’m gonna write about a few different key components of my first semester of college. Hopefully, I can give you some insight into UIUC, the Computer Science department, and my life at the University of Illinois.

Academics

Perhaps the most boring section, so let’s get it out of the way. I entered UIUC as a Computer Science major in the College of Engineering. As far as CS goes, I was enrolled in CS 126 and CS 173. The former is a class called Software Design Studio, and is by far one of my favorite classes that I’ve ever taken. I came into college knowing how to write code (just barely) but not how to actually use my code to design software. I learned a ton from this class, from simply implementing APIs to understanding intricacies of software design for industry. CS 126 is what catalyzed my first-semester-growth-spurt in programming, and induced the transition of CS from just my major to an actual passion. I’m especially excited for next semester, because I get to teach the very same class as a CS 126 Course Assistant! I’ve always loved teaching and helping others, so I’m eager to see how this will pan out.

There’s one crucial thing about academics and school that I realized as I went through this semester, though — grades don’t matter. Learning does. The skills, interests, and experience you garner through coursework is a large perk of a CS degree. Of course, I am only a freshman, so what I say should be taken with a grain of salt, but, from what I’ve seen, employability is very clearly correlated to your programming ability and passion, not your GPA.

In my opinion, this system is amazing. It allows students to care less about their letter grade and more about what they’re learning. It devolves previous ideologies around rank, competition, and grades that are still present in other colleges, countries, and majors. It transcends the notion that college is vital to the success of a student. Of course, that’s not to say I don’t care about my grades, but it’s reassuring to know that a couple Bs or Cs won’t jeopardize my future.

Social

It’s no secret that people at UIUC party. It didn’t take me long to realize, though, that I hate parties. By parties I mean exactly what you’d expect — frat houses with large crowds of sweaty bodies and tons of alcohol. I do like having fun with my friends, but the traditional sense of “going out” is definitely not for me.

Speaking of friends, I’m from Naperville, Illinois. To clarify, a lot of people from Naperville (and from my high school) choose to go to UIUC. In fact, there’s a stigma surrounding going to U of I — many students don’t want to go because they’re not getting out of their comfort zone; they’re getting a new experience, since, inevitably, many of their friends and peers will also end up attending the University of Illinois. This was a fear of mine as well, but I’m glad to now say that this stigma is only true if you want it to be. Not to say that I cut out my high school friends — I definitely didn’t. But it wasn’t hard to meet all kinds of new people from different places, backgrounds, and interests. I’m very happy with the friends I’ve made, and love the community that I’m a part of.

Community

The absolute best part about CS @ Illinois and my favorite thing about college.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when first coming to UIUC. I think I can summarize my initial experience with the people in CS @ Illinois in a couple points:

1. I’m much, much dumber than I thought I was.
2. Everyone is incredibly smart. Hence, #1.
3. No one is competitive or hostile. Literally everyone wants to help each other, work together, and learn from their peers.

I came in to UIUC with basic programming knowledge and no real development experience. Yet, I’ve learned more CS in this single semester than I have in the past 2 years. The best part is, I can confidently say I’ve learned just as much, if not more, from my peers than from my classes. Moreover, the upperclassmen are incredibly helpful; they’re always willing to help freshmen learn and grow. I was amazed by how the community within the department came together in clubs like ACM to organize events like Reflections | Projections and HackIllinois. The sheer dedication and passion of the students involved in these organizations is contagious and inspiring.

I love walking into the ACM student office everyday and seeing students collaborating, working on problems on whiteboards or just reviewing each others’ code. I love being a part of HackIllinois, an organization that is full of driven, passionate people that love working together towards a single goal. Most of all, I love learning from everybody, asking countless (often, very dumb) questions to my peers in an effort to gain as much knowledge I can from those around me.

Of all amazing perks of the program, there’s no doubt that CS @ UIUC’s community is by far its greatest strength. If I could give any single piece of advice to an incoming college student, it would be this: find a community of passionate, dedicated, and hard-working individuals that you love and immerse yourself within it. UIUC has shown me that the power of collaboration is limitless, and that it really is those around you that drive you towards success.

Future

What next? There are a few key things that I’m looking forward to for next semester:

1. Teaching CS 126! Mentioned above.
2. Gaining real software engineering industry experience working at Capital One during the semester in UIUC’s Research Park.
3. HackIllinois 2018.
4. Writing more! (hopefully more posts on Medium, but no promises).

Most of all, I’m excited to continue learning. As long as I continue to learn, grow, and develop as a person, student, and engineer, I’m a happy camper.