Sophia

My Background

I grew up in California and lived there for most of my life, but I also lived in Eastern Europe for part of my childhood. I studied history and philosophy at University of California, Los Angeles, while focusing mostly on American history. Before joining the  Align program, I was living in Oregon and preparing to take the LSAT exam and apply to law school, while hoping to attend school in that state. I worked for a non-profit organization and volunteered at the Oregon Historical Society as a transcriptionist.

My Future

I was drawn to the Align program by its mission of bringing in students from non-STEM backgrounds. With my background in liberal arts, I was glad to have the opportunity to study computer science without any prerequisites. I think getting people with non-STEM degrees into this academic field is important. I chose Khoury College of Computer Sciences because I was interested in the research projects I had seen on the website that students at Khoury College were working on, and I felt that the environment at this particular school would be a good fit for me to study the topics in computer science that interest me most.

I am interested in working in tech or finance, because I am fascinated by the rapid evolution of these fields in recent years. I enjoy learning about the new challenges that both fields face, and think being able to help solve some of these problems would make for a stimulating and rewarding career path.