When filling out college applications I had a simple reason for choosing CSE: I loved solving puzzles. I wanted a field where that feeling would be my daily job.
The First Time Code Clicked
It was a C program to calculate the area of a circle. Nothing special to anyone watching — but to me, it felt like speaking to the machine and having it listen. That moment hooked me completely.
What CSE Actually Teaches You
Beyond the code, CSE teaches systematic thinking: break complex problems apart, reason about trade-offs, be precise. These skills are useful everywhere.
- How to think in abstractions
- How to read documentation (criminally underrated)
- How to debug anything — not just code
- How to learn independently in a field that moves fast
// What Drives Me Now
Today I'm fascinated by the intersection of Data Science and real-world problems — finding patterns in data that drive better decisions. That feels like my corner of the CSE world.
Advice to Incoming CSE Students
Build things. Don't wait until you're ready — you never will. Ship something, break it, fix it. The best learning happens outside the classroom, debugging at 2am. Also: read other people's code. Open source is a treasure.
Keep building. 🚀