Over the course of Autumn quarter, my goals and expectations for myself have changed slightly. Before attending UW, I was not sure if I would be able to learn as much in online classes when compared to in person classes. Because of this, I was expecting to rely on external resources in order to deeply understand the content in my courses. However, my classes this quarter pleasantly surprised me and I have found that if anything I have more material than I need to deeply understand the topics and skills. I have found the online learning environment to have many benefits I had not previously considered, and because of this I have loved the process of online learning. I have found online learning to be convenient and less stressful. For instance, instead of spending my time between classes traveling around campus, I am able to do important things for my mental health such as walking outside and spending time with my family.
Furthermore, within my first quarter in Honors, I have been surprised by how often my interests intersect within my classes. Specifically, my interests in design and computer science have intersected in my Honors 220C and my Design 150 class. In addition to my interests combining in the classroom setting, I have seen a clear connection between my interests in clubs I am participating in. This quarter, I joined HuskyADAPT and Design For America. Through both of these clubs I have seen how coding can be used to create interaction design solutions such as digital applications in addition to being beneficial for programming robotic components. Being able to participate in classes and extracurricular activities that relate to my passions has motivated me as a student and has made me view my education this quarter as extremely valuable. Within my classes, I have been able to understand how I would use the information I have been leaning within a real-world context.
Because I have not been physically at UW this quarter, I was not expecting to have so many opportunities for social interaction with my classmates. However, class servers on Discord, breakout rooms on Zoom, and clubs have allowed me to meet many of my peers. I’ve been impressed by the intelligence and passion my peers have when speaking to them, and I am looking forward to the time when I can meet my peers on campus in a normal campus environment.
In the future, I hope to continue meeting more of my peers as much as possible within the constraints of online learning. Additionally, my classes this quarter have motivated me to continue to take more design, computer science, and social justice oriented courses in the winter quarter. By the end of this year, I hope to declare my minor and fulfill the prerequisite course for my major in addition to being accepted into the Design major. In order to do so, I plan to take Design 166 next quarter and CSE 143. Depending on the grade I earn in Design 166 I have the opportunity to have admission into the Design major, and after I complete CSE 143 I will be able to declare my minor. However, this is a tentative plan and may change, so I am keeping an open mind. Furthermore, I am especially excited for the development of my group projects in HuskyADAPT and Design For America, which are both year long commitments. I hope these clubs will allow me to further develop my design skills.
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