The (Software Engineering) Odyssey
20 Jan 2022Baby Steps
The novice stages of my software engineering experiences began in my 6th grade year of middle school, sitting in an introductory extracurricular coding class learning JavaScript. My teacher had us conceptually create if-else programs with a Frankenstein maze puzzle as our very first problem and from there we used applications such as scratch to create mini projects. Then my second year I got a better taste of software engineering by learning languages such as JavaScript, HTML, and CSS through code academy and other online sources. I applied this knowledge by making a basic website for my aquaponics project on a website called thimble. Since then I took a long hiatus until my first semester at UH.
How exactly I ended up choosing Computer Science as a major is still a mystery to me, but I’d like to think that I chose CS partially on a whim and partially because I saw programming as an enjoyable challenge which brought my love of STEM and problem solving together. As a child I always liked to pick apart the mechanics of systems, objects, or puzzles so it naturally made sense I would end up in a field such as this one. Moreover, in today’s world technology is our future, it dictates and assists several aspects in our everyday lives. By extension the possibilities that technology and the world of software engineering hold are endless and advancing at incredible speed, only adding to the excitement and my eagerness to become more proficient in my skills.
Trusting the process
Looking back I wish I had taken up more interest in software engineering, especially in highschool, but life is about the journey not the destination so I’m trusting the process for now. I plan on making the best of my time in my ICS courses, including ICS 212, and achieving a higher understanding of software engineering. I look forward to looking at the different frameworks in depth and deepening my shallow understanding of this field. I’ve only scratched the surface, however I’m excited for my future prospects.
IMUA
One of my ambitions for the future is to find a way to integrate my passion for Hawaiian culture and Computer Science to help uplift the Native Hawaiian community. I want to encourage the Native Hawaiian Youth to explore fields of STEM and CS in order to propel the community into the future of technology while still protecting the sanctity of the culture and its values. There are many applications where Computer Science & programming go hand in hand with the natural world that integrates Hawaiian values, concepts, and knowledge (agricultural system practices (moon cycles, loʻi kalo, etc), star navigation, weather patterns, etc.). I also see this as a symbiotic relationship because technology and software engineering can benefit the community but the medium of technology and how people approach problems could also benefit from a Native Hawaiian world view.