After earning my associate’s degree in Computer Information Systems at Greenfield Community College, I transferred to 榆树大学 to pursue my 学士 degree in Computer Information Technology and 安全. My advisor at Greenfield recommended that I go to Elms. I looked at other colleges around the area and I just decided that Elms had the most computer-related tech courses I wanted to take, and it wasn’t as math-heavy. That’s the main reason why I picked Elms.
And the courses were online too. That was a big thing because I was working full-time. I worked full-time jobs the whole time I was going to college. It was big that Elms had online classes because otherwise, I wouldn’t have done it. I did face-to-face classes at GCC, but I didn’t see a drawback in establishing relationships with my Elms professors. I connected with them a lot because I would just email them all the time if I had questions. Professors like Dr. 水苍玉霍夫曼, Co-Chair of Natural Science, Mathematics and Technology, would answer right away and be really helpful. She is the best professor.
The small size of Elms allows you to connect with your professors easier. If I went to UMass it would be hard because you can’t connect with your professors because you’re in a class with like 200 other people. All the advisors are really good. They are quick to answer your questions, and if you need help, it is a lot easier to get help than if you went to a bigger college.
You learn a lot in the classes. The classes are well put-together and based on things you actually use on the job, which is not necessarily the case with other computer science programs. Dr. Hoffman’s programming classes emphasize skills you need in the industry – and I know this because I have a software engineering job.
It was Elms that awakened my passion for coding. When I graduated from GCC, I was doing computer information systems and cybersecurity. I didn’t know what I wanted to do but I knew I wanted to do something computer-related. But one month into a class on Python programming language, I wanted to switch majors to computer science. I reached out to Dr. 霍夫曼对
changing my major, and she was surprised because I only had a year left. But she understood.
That course changed my whole mind about what I wanted to do. I took that class and really liked it, and it changed my whole perspective. I can do this – and I’m good at it! It felt like I found my passion.
I’m so glad I took that class because I don’t think I am where I am today if I didn’t.
Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science and Computer Information Technology & 安全