CS373 Spring 2021: Regina Chen

Hello! Welcome to my first blog post of CS373. Hopefully you can learn a little bit about me!

Where did you grow up?

I was born in San Francisco, CA but grew up in Houston, TX.

What high school did you attend?

I attended Kempner High School.

What was your favorite extracurricular activity in high school?

I was in orchestra and played the violin. Although I honestly was not too passionate about the violin, I had a lot of fun playing alongside my friends and made a lot of good memories through orchestra.

Why did you come to UT?

I wanted to go to school somewhere within Texas, but away from Houston for a change of scenery. UT was my top choice because I heard that it had a good computer science program. I also had a cousin and a lot of close friends who were attending UT as well, so it was nice knowing that I would have people near me that reminded me of home, even when I’m not at home.

Why are you majoring in CS?

I stumbled into the world of programming when I decided to randomly take intro to Java back in my Sophomore year of high school. I remember doing well and having a lot of fun in that class, but still never really considered majoring in it.

I then took physics and the AP CS class junior year of high school. I did not have a fun time with physics, but through that, I realized how much I preferred and enjoyed coding. It made me think about why and how I think about solving something, and allowed me to be creative.

Why are you in this class and what do you expect of it?

I heard about this class from friends and heard that it was a useful class. I hope through the projects and lectures, I will gain the knowledge and experience needed for the real world. I also look forward to seeing the final product of the project that my classmates and I will work on!

How much Javascript/Python/SQL/Web programming do you already know?

I took an intro course to Python last semester and briefly used JavaScript during the summer during my internship. However, I had not had much experience with SQL and Web programming. I am willing and excited to learn and use them for this class though. I think it’ll be interesting to see how they all tie together.

How did you like the two lectures?

I thought the lectures were very engaging and well organized! I have never used Microsoft Teams before, but found it very useful to keep track of other student’s questions and comments. I appreciated how thorough and patient Professor Downing was in answering all our questions and explaining examples.

How do you feel about the cold calling?

Honestly, I am pretty nervous about it because I am usually pretty quiet in class, but I feel like it’ll be a good way to force myself out of my comfort zone. I trust that Professor Downing and my classmates will not judge me for my questions and answers, and that it is just a time and space for us all to learn.

What made you happy this week?

I made some chocolate chip cookies this week! I really like baking in my free time and find it to be stress relieving.