Informatics
Why did you choose UC Irvine for your studies?
I chose UCI as the school for my choice because I feel it is like the second Silicon Valley with Google, Western Digital, Broadcom and other big tech names right around the corner.
What is the most enjoyable part of your studies?
That I’m learning real-life & valuable skills that I will definitely use in my career path later in the future. I love the fact that I had a recent job interview in which the whole interview revolved around Informatics classes that I had taken.
Have you done an internship? If so, where and in what role?
I am doing an internship with The Portal by K5 Ventures & The Beall Family Foundation. As the student manager, my mission is to introduce UCIrvine students with tech startup experts, investors, and entrepreneurs through experiential learning and practice.
What did you get to do?
I get to work with cutting-edge startup organizations and take on different roles from software engineering (learning current technologies like Ruby on Rails and iOS development) to product manager (experiencing agile workflows & meetings).
Have you done research? If so, with which professor and what was your project? What did you get to do?
No I have not.
Are you pursuing a minor or double major? If so, which one and why?
I am pursuing a minor in Management. Informatics pairs so nicely with management concepts that it just makes sense. I love that I sometimes learn the same concepts from two different views — a business and a computer science perspective. This just emphasizes and expands my knowledge and proves to me that my classes are applicable in the real-world!
Are you engaged in any social activities outside of your studies?
Yes, Information and Computer Science (ICS) Student Council
If so, which ones? [If applicable] What’s your role?
I am the President of Information and Computer Science (ICS) Student Council. ICSSC serves to improve student life of the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences academically, socially, and professionally. Major events done by ICS Student Council are ICS Day, Med AppJam, and Reverse Career Fair.
https://student-council.ics.uci.edu/
What are you most proud of so far?
Being chosen as the UCIrvine Google Student Ambassador is my most accomplished moment. My role with that is to promote Googleyness across UCI and show how Google can be used to better anyone’s personal and professional endeavors.
http://ambassador.google.uci.edu
What has been the best part of your experience?
Definitely has to be the Senior Design Project that all Informatics Students are required to take! Although it seems daunting, this class wraps up a lot of concepts that I have learned throughout my undergraduate experience in and shows me how they apply them in the real-world. The team members that you pick will become your best and closest friends & together you will develop technical — and most importantly — soft presentation skills. Plus, your student project looks AMAZING on resumes!
What are your aspirations, that is, what do you want to do/be in future?
I want to Travel! I want to go in a career that allows me a lot of airplane time. I strongly believe that networking is crucial to success and by traveling for business I will meet a lot of people and learn from their experiences. I will get to see what works and what does not work in corporations. Plus, of course, I will get to experience (even for a minute) different cultures and sights!
What would your advice be to incoming students in your program?
Join clubs!!! Jump from club to club until you find your niche and stick with it! Being around people with the same interests will definitely push and motivate you. I would say to pick quality over quantity and join one or two clubs at most. Personally, I got all my opportunities, like the Google Student Ambassador or The Portal Student Manager, because I was strongly involved in school clubs!
