More Than Just a Nerd by Melissa

More Than Just a Nerd by Melissa - April 2013 Scholarship Essay

My name is Melissa Oliver, and I am currently a junior at the University of Missouri in Columbia majoring in Computer Science. Computer science is my favorite subject because I personally find it to be the most interesting and challenging. Initially, my interest began with programming and mastering the many details and thought processes involved in programming. Later, once I thought of programming as "been there, done that", I became interested in designing large software systems. I love my major because it is about a unique kind of problem solving, which involves productively solving problems using computation. I am creative, enjoy puzzles, fascinated with problem solving, comfortable with abstract thinking, and appreciate working at the intersection of multiple disciplines, which is why computer science is my favorite subject in school. I was not always a computer science major. However, once I switched into the engineering field, I was able to learn how computers are constructed, the principles behind important "infrastructure" software systems, study classic algorithms, and learn to code my own programs. Out of all the aspects of computer science, I prefer programming. It is the intellectual endeavor of creating individual software programs that involves thinking, coding, and testing. Computer science is not about building keyboards or monitors or the cables that connect your PC to your printer. While these are important to the functioning of a computer, computer software consists of interacting programs each of which is a collection of instructions capable of being executed on a computer. Computer science is the science of using computers to solve problems, and with that being said, I have chosen computer science as my favorite subject in school.