Week 1

First things first, please excuse the generic title.

"Week" one of Fall 2014 classes at The University of Texas at Austin are over! While Wednesday through Friday isn't really a full week, it definitely feels like it. My classes all started with a sprint, especially CS 313E.

I am indeed a Biomedical Engineering student so it might seem strange that I am completing the Elements of Computing Certificate since I already utilize and sharpen my software design skills with various programming and computing languages learned in my major classes. However, to me, it makes perfect sense! Why not learn one or two more? Why not learn Python? Regardless of whether or not I want to pursue a software engineering role after graduation, being skilled at programming (and having the mindset behind it)  is invaluable for success in a software company. 

My Professor made it very clear on the first day that he wants us to truly understand object-oriented software design so that we can actually implement it in our future jobs. Professor Downing even went as far as posting important dates for recruiting events on our class calendar. I really appreciate this type of teaching approach. It puts students' success as a top priority. As a graduating senior student, my aim is to jump at opportunities to strengthen my attractiveness as a job candidate. Those important dates are definitely on my calendar!

One of the main ways CS 313E helps us to better prepare ourselves for a career in software design is through the creation and/or maintenance of a GitHub repository. I've heard of GitHub before and I'm excited to gain practical exposure to its usefulness!

Stay tuned for another post next week!
JL