Undergraduate Profiles

Wendy Chun, Senior BS/MS Student

Quick Facts About Wendy:

• Birthplace: Ann Arbor, MI
• Childhood Home: Seoul, South Korea
• Special Talent: Plays violin in the University Symphony
• Hobbies: Playing piano, cooking, watching movies, ...

What got you interested in CS? There was no big one thing that made me interested in CS. My interest just grew up gradually while I was growing up. When I was a kid, I always played games on an old DOS computer. I typed a command, then it directs me to the game, and this small little thing was just magic to me. Then when I was in elementary school, I first heard about the internet and making a webpage. I then wanted to ehance the webpage, so I learned other software to do that. I just got sucked in.

What has been your favorite class so far? I like most of the cs classes!

What area do you want to specialize in and why? Intelligence and Interactive system area. One of my professors I had introduced his research, and I was curious enough to go to an open house for the lab where I saw their research projects. I felt like this is the area I want to study more. Around the same time, I watched Iron Man, and I was impressed by the UI, such as the flying touch screen. So I took a lot of upper division elective courses in the area to see if this is the right path and found I was definitely on the right path! :)

What would you like to do after you graduate? I am currently enrolled in 5-years BS/MS program so I am planning/already in to do MS in here, UCSB

What have you liked about coming to UCSB? I really like the environment and atmosphere here. I love the beach and I can go almost anytime I want because beach is so close. There are also a lot of fun activities I can do nearby such as hiking, kayaking, and also sailing!

Do you have any advice for freshman to survive their first two years? When I was a freshman, the first two quarters was absolutely hectic for me because I had almost no programming background and tried to finish the projects with that lack of knowledge. Grades were not that impressive, either, and I considered switching my major to something because I was afraid and felt like I wouldn't be able to survive. But here, none of the majors are really easy, and we need to go through these obstacles to reach our goal. So rather than finding something easier major, trying harder to survive because the more you try, more you will get paid later ;)

Do you have any advice for students or parents trying to choose a college? -...UCSB is great!...

Pablo Ortiz, Junior

More About Pablo:

• Hometown: La Canada, CA
• Hobbies - I like to play video games, read comics, engage in many types of sports, watch movies... The list goes on for miles.

What got you interested in CS? I was always interested in computers and taking computer science classes at my high school further cemented this interest.

What has been your favorite class so far? My favorite class so far was the first introductory programming class required by the major.

What area do you want to specialize in and why? I want to specialize in artificial intelligence and humanoid robotics (I believe the two go hand in hand). I am interested in these subjects primarily because of enthusiastic curiosity. I relish the idea that one day these things might exist in abundance in our world.

What do you do when you need to relax? When I need to relax, I throw myself face down on my bed and take a nap. There is nothing quite like spending a few hours unconscious on a soft bed to ease your cares and woes.

What CS-related opportunities have you participated in at UCSB beyond traditional classes? I was involved in undergraduate research for quite some time. I approached one of my professors about it in my sophomore year and was a part of it ever since.

What would you like to do after you graduate? I would like to go on to pursue a Ph.D.

What have you liked about coming to UCSB? I have liked the immense diversity of the student population. There are clubs for almost every activity you can think of. It was extremely easy to make friends and enjoy myself in this way in my freshman year.

Do you have any advice for freshman to survive their first two years? Don't give up and don't slack off.

Do you have any advice for students or parents trying to choose a college? Choosing the objectively "best" school in terms of reputation might not always be in the best interest of your child. It is important that a student learn in an atmosphere in which they are comfortable and happy. So, when choosing a school, find one whose atmosphere and range of activities appeals most to your child. As for the student, learn as much as possible about all the schools that have accepted you and try to eliminate as many as you can from your list based on your preferences. If you like all the colleges left on your list, then you will be happy with any decision you make. So, pick one calmly.

Sarah Jones, Sophomore

More About Sarah:

• Hometown: Moorpark, CA
• Favorite Movie: Pixar's UP
• Hidden Talent: I compete competitively in ballroom dance

What got you interested in CS? I originally interested in computers when I started building webpages on a children's virtual pet website in middle school. In high school, I took an intro to CS course at the local community college in high school; a couple months later I decided to pursue CS as my major in college.

What has been your favorite class so far? My favorite class was CS130A (Data Structures and an Introduction to Algorithms); I really enjoyed learning about some of the more complex data structures and discovering how they are applied in the "real world." It is amazing how relatively simple concepts can be utilized to build really powerful tools.

What area do you want to specialize in and why? To be honest, I'm not sure yet. I rearranged my curriculum schedule to take Computer Security as a junior (instead of as a senior) because I find the concepts and the talks I have had with the Security professors really interesting; I look forward to finding out if this is what I want to specialize in.

What CS-related opportunities have you participated in at UCSB beyond traditional classes? I have been fortunate enough to spend last summer working for Dr. Diana Franklin on a web application geared towards recruiting females and latina/os into computer science. For the past quarter, I been working on a small research project in the CS Architecture lab; I will continuing working in the Arch lab this summer on a different project.

In what clubs are you active? I joined ACM fall quarter of my freshman year, and I had a really awesome experience getting to know a bunch of students who are really passionate about Computer Science. I am currently Tutoring Coordinator and will be continuing to hold this position for another year.

I am a very active member of, as well as Secretary for, UCSB's Cotillion Ballroom Club. I intend to advance my leadership position for the club next year.

What would you like to do after you graduate? I am planning to attend graduate school. I am pretty positive I will pursue a Ph. D, but at the very least I would like to acquire a Master's. I am unsure whether I would like to enter into industry or academia; I plan to do a few internships in industry to help me make this decision.

What have you liked about coming to UCSB? Well, I think everyone really loves the weather and the scenery. But, I have really appreciated the passion and the interest that the professors (particularly in CS) have for helping undergraduates. The atmosphere is incredibly friendly, so it is hard to not be happy here.

Do you have any advice for freshman to survive their first two years? My first piece of advice is to go to professors' office hours. Falling behind in college is not an option, so it is important to ask questions. Getting to know the professors is a pleasure and can even blossom into other opportunities. Find a club or activity outside of your school work. There are a lot of really great and active organizations that are a lot of fun and have a lot to offer.

Maggie Wang, Junior

Quick Facts About Maggie:

• Hometown: Palo Alto, CA
• Favorite Class so Far: CS 178 - Intro to Cryptography
• Hobbies: hiking, exploring the wilderness, reading, driving
• Way to relax: Driving listening to music, watching sunrise/sunset

What got you interested in CS? The impact computer science has and can have on the many aspects of our lives.

What area do you want to specialize in and why? Computer Security / Cryptography. I really enjoy like reading mystery books, because I get to find each piece to the puzzle slowly and I love the suspense and excitement of finding out the big picture. I feel like Computer Security and Cryptography is the Computer Science version of mystery books.

What CS-related opportunities have you participated in at UCSB beyond traditional classes? I have taken a graduate division class in cryptography and have participated many engineering club related activities.

In what clubs are you active? WISH (Women in Software and Hardware) vice president.

What would you like to do after you graduate? I'm planning on doing the 5-year BS/MS Computer Science program at UCSB.

What have you liked about coming to UCSB? I really like the social and academic environment UCSB has and I get enjoyment from both. I can be working on a project and solving problems with some of the brightest engineers during the day and then having fun and acting silly with my friends at night.

Do you have any advice for freshman to survive their first two years? Do your best in everything you set your mind to.

Rudy Mendoza, Junior

Quick Facts About Rudy:

• Favorite Class so Far: Computer Architecture
• Hobbies: soccer, video games
• Favorite Movie: Lion King

What got you interested in CS? have always had an innate curiosity to figure out how devices work such as calculators, remote control cars but when I got my first computer, I became fascinated with the machine and promised myself to pursue a degree related to computers.

What area do you want to specialize in and why? I want to specialize in processor design or some hardware/software interfacing.

In what clubs are you active? I am currently the Events Chair in Los Ingenieros (LI) but will not be holding a position next year. I am also the LI representative to the CS Diversity Committee.

What would you like to do after you graduate? I want to attend graduate school and continue my education with an emphasis on hardware/software interface.

What have you liked about coming to UCSB? Beautiful weather, interesting social atmosphere and the hands-on experience with classes.

Do you have any advice for freshman to survive their first two years? Stay on track, be realistic about programming skills regarding the intro courses to CS, get to know important resources such as CSIL and do not hesitate to seek out help.

Do you have any advice for students or parents trying to choose a college? Depending on the personality of the student, sometimes being too far from home can be detrimental to a student's focus in school and see if a backup plan is plausible.

Vivian Vasquez, Sophomore

Quick Facts About Vivian:

• Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
• Favorite Class so Far: CS 60 - C++
• Hobbies: dancing, drawing, running, cooking
• Way to relax: Hike on UCSB trails to for ocean and campus views

What got you interested in CS? I took a Computer Science course in high school, liked it and thought I might as well major in it. My dad also had a major influence in my decision.

What do you love about Computer Science? I love the fact that computer science is extremely flexible and can be applied to any area/field of study. I also love its artistic component.

What area do you want to specialize in and why? Data Mining - because I want to make sense of all that nonsensical data.

What CS-related opportunities have you participated in at UCSB beyond traditional classes? I participated in the Google Fuse program my freshman year.

In what clubs are you active? I am one of the founders of WISH, Women in Software and Hardware (promoting success and retention of women in CS). I was also Internal Vice-President of Los Ingenieros this past year. My duties entitled organizing one of UCSB's largest outreach events called Science and Technology/MESA Day.

What would you like to do after you graduate? After I graduate I will be attending graduate school - hopefully in the East Coast.

What have you liked about coming to UCSB? I like the plethora of opportunities and experiences that the campus has to offer, both socially and academically (undergraduate research is encouraged!).

Do you have any advice for freshman to survive their first two years? As Winston Churchill once said "never never never give up"....and seek for help. I highly recommend being active on campus by joining clubs(WISH), seeking tutoring, and attending CLAS classes.

Do you have any advice for students or parents trying to choose a college? Definitely try contacting students attending that college, and if you know your major, contact students in that major and ask them lots of questions about the courses they're taking and campus life.

Sergio Sanchez, Junior Computer Engineering Major

Quick Facts About Sergio:

• Hometown: Downey, CA
• Hobbies: Eating, playing music, programming, eating
• Something Unique About Sergio: I started taking technology apart at the age of three but putting it back together just recently started

Sergio's Favorites:

• Activity - Eating good food
• Sport - Soccer
• Book - Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
• Geeky Possession - Albert Einstein Action Figure

Favorite Things About:

• UCSB - Everyone is friendly and mellow. No one really stresses.
• The CE Program - The program is tailored to each person's liking - many paths available
• Santa Barbara - You live on the beach. What's not to like?

Why Sergio chose UCSB: The program seemed very flexible. Everything from computer science and electrical engineering is available, making each student's degree unique.

Why Computer Engineering?: Technology has always fascinated me and I have always loved building, repairing, and programming computers for other people. Computer engineering gave me the opportunity to work with both software and hardware.

What was / is your most challenging but rewarding course? Why?: ECE 15B - assembly language. It was challenging to program in but gave me such a great insight into how a computer actually processes instructions.

What area do you want to specialize in and why?: I'm still not totally sure but I am really leaning towards distributed systems or computer system design.

What are your plans after graduation?: I plan on applying to graduate school and work with robotics with medical applications. I'm looking into UC Santa Barbara, UC San Diego, UC Los Angeles, and University of Washington

The Curriculum:

• List the benefits of a program that is a cross between Computer Science and Electrical Engineering - It's perfect for anyone who doesn't quite know whether or not they'll like working with hardware or software more.
• What have you learned that has surprised you the most so far? - Assembly language and how all of the Nintendo and Super Nintendo games were programmed in it. That must have been a nightmare to debug!
• Have you done an internship? - I worked with The Boeing Company in Seal Beach. My internship was in Information Technology and I worked on reprogramming dynamic reports and hardening thin client computers.

Sergio's Off-campus Life:

• What is the social scene like for CE students? - Though not much time for it, I enjoy going out with friends and dancing, singing, playing rock band, watching movies, etc.
• Describe your housing situation - I live in an apartment with two other engineers. My neighbors are also engineers. It's one big happy engineering family.

Advice to students/parents about UCSB and CE:

• Students - Stay focused. The hours are long and the work is tough but the end rewards are totally worth it.
• Parents - Be supportive. Engineering isn't easy and we students need all of the support we can get.

Dillon Kearns, Junior

Quick Facts About Dillon:

• Hometown: Santa Barbara, CA
• Hobbies: reading, piano, being in nature

What got you interested in CS? After studying music for a few years, I decided to change majors when I realized I didn't want to be a performer. I had studied some philosophy, and developed a love for logic. I had also always enjoyed optimizing things on computers (though I hadn't learned any programming), so Computer Science seemed to be the perfect field for me to explore. I'm happy to say that every day I'm more and more convinced that I was right!

What has been your favorite class so far? Taking the introductory Computer Science courses was an amazing experience because you're learning so many fundamentally different processes: thinking algorithmically, using Object-oriented principles. On the other hand, it's also been very satisfying to feel my horizons broaden as I gain enough knowledge to explore new areas in Computer Science on my own, and create more large-scale programs.

What area do you want to specialize in and why? I'm really interested to use my background in music to create computer software. I'd like to work to create more powerful software for cataloging music to make the process more flexible and powerful (the current system is badly in need of an update).

What would you like to do after you graduate? Studying Computer Science is so fun, and there's so much to learn. I certainly plan to continue on to grad school.

What have you liked about coming to UCSB? UCSB has given me the opportunity to work with a lot of great professors and has been a very supportive environment.

Do you have any advice for freshmen to survive their first two years? I wish someone had told me about how you need to do things other than what you're assigned in college during my first year. If you don't figure that out, it can be a big stumbling block. Textbooks are a great resource, so don't be afraid to read something that hasn't been assigned if you're stuck on something; it can can save you a lot of trouble.