The Fall 2017 semester saw a record number of enrolled first-years for CCIS, and amongst the 399 incoming students was Michaela Perrotta from Wakefield, Massachusetts.

During the summer before her senior year, Perrotta participated in Northeastern’s Girls Who Code chapter which inspired her to pursue AP computer science. “I had always been strong in Math, and I had friends taking [computer science classes] so I thought I would try it,” said Perrotta.

Perrotta graduated from Austin Preparatory School, a private Catholic school in Reading, Massachusetts. She has declared her major in computer science, and said she is interested in learning more about the field of cyber operations.

While undecided as to what she wants to do as a career, Perrotta said she is looking forward to the co-op program to help her find her path, “it’s a taste of what your career can be.” She said she is hoping to explore the possibility of co-ops with Google and Apple.

Perrotta lives in White Hall, which houses the computer science Living Learning Community (LLC), allowing first-year students to extend their interests in computer science outside of classes. Perrotta said she is “still quite new to computer science” (in comparison to some other freshmen), but has some Java coding experience under her belt.

“Classes are going well, they certainly keep me busy,” she said. Perrotta is currently taking the standard course-load for CS freshmen – Fundamentals of Computer Science I, Discrete Structures, CS Overview I, First-Year Writing, and Technology & Human Values. She also plans on exploring engineering and business-related electives during her time at Northeastern.

In her spare time, Perrotta said she enjoys going to the gym as stress relief and is also a black belt in karate. She is looking forward to “getting involved” with some of Northeastern’s many student clubs, particularly with NUWiT (Women in Tech) and intramural softball.