spring quarter 2020
some things i took for granted from on campus learning:
One of the first things I did when I found out that Spring quarter would be online was organize and clean my room. I had grown to really love my dorm space at UW because of how simple and minimalistic it was, and I wanted my study space at home to have a similar energy. I donated pounds of clothing in my closet, which allowed me to reorganize my closet nicely. I also cleared out the clutter on my desk and rearranged the space. Personally, the challenges I saw with remote classes were that I was just sitting at my desk for nearly half the day without getting up and moving around. I discovered that I actually missed speed-walking to class and I even missed the anxiety of trying to get to class early for a good seat. Another challenge I experienced from remote learning was the strain on my eyes from staring at my computer screen for so long. I took more naps this quarter than ever before because my body just tired so easily. Staying in touch with others socially was also a challenge. It was ironic because Zoom meetings made it easier than ever to "meet" with people and stay connected, but I often lacked motivation and desire to do so. Obviously remote learning was a significant change. Learning-wise, I definitely would have been more focused if my classes were in person. I often found myself checking my phone during lectures or browsing other tabs, so I really had to hold myself accountable and put my phone on the other side of the room to pay full attention. My family's Wi-Fi was also very slow and unreliable in the beginning, so this resulted in some issues. However, I must stress that I do believe I was very privileged due to the fact that my life did not change very much. Both of my parents were able to work from home easily, and we were all healthy. I had access to the technology I needed for remote learning, and I had a calm, peaceful space to do my work. I miss campus, but remote learning has taught me many valuable lessons I am certain I would not have learned if this quarter had been in person. some fun things from remote spring quarter:
It's okay to be scared, but do it anyway" I was very curious about the various applications of a cybersecurity degree in the professional world, and was excited when I saw the Cybersecurity Panel that DubsTech was hosting. The panelists were Masako Long, Zabrina McIntyre, Andrea Frost, Kim Huynh, and Remi Cohen. They were all women working in very diverse sectors of cybersecurity from sales, to regulatory compliance, to penetration testing and threat detection. I came away super inspired by the stories they shared about their journeys and their unique experiences as women in cybersecurity. ---------------------------------------NOTES----------------------------------
Podcasts
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INFO 201 was definitely one of my favorite classes I've taken at UW so far. It was an introductory data science course where we worked with the open source coding language, R to manipulate data and create data visualizations. I honestly didn't know much about data science or what data scientists did before this course, but after taking this class, I discovered that data science was actually something that really interested me and something I might want to major in.
Similar to INFO 200, I really enjoyed all the projects/assignments we did in this course. I especially loved being able to create beautiful graphs in R and summarize key findings. I have had experience with Python in the past, so R was quite similar. But I must say, since I had been working with Java most recently, it felt like a crime each time I didn't put a semi-colon at the end of each line! I think the skills that I learned in INFO 201 were incredibly useful and I am excited to be able to work on some data analysis and visualization projects on my own in the future using R. I would recommend this course to anyone who is looking for a fun, easy, and useful introductory data science course. one of the cases we studied was the famous McDonald's Coffee Lawsuit. Professor McCann was featured in this video! This quarter, I took LSJ 363, Law in Society which was taught by Professor Michael McCann. It was a course that I saw becoming increasingly relevant, especially with the the killing of George Floyd sparking riots and protests around the country. Some key things the course covered were legal mobilization and the factors determining whether or not people choose to mobilize the law, and the violence of the law as a bureaucracy. The course was structured around daily readings which Professor McCann dived deeper into during lectures, and section was a time for discussion of the week's readings and lectures. The second half of the class actually had some focus on police brutality and the "Thin Blue Line". If excessive force is continually used by the police, the words of the law begin to have less power. I think the most important thing I've learned from this course is that we live in a world where perfect justice does not exist. In one of our readings about law's violence by Robert Cover, Cover writes that the “balance of terror” represented in trends of legal violence (policing, incarceration, and capital punishment) is just about right. I did not agree with his conclusion. The disproportionate subjectivity of various communities to the law are one issue, and the excessive use of force another. However, I believe that a stronger underlying issue is the blurring of lines when it comes to determining “innocence” under the law and the systems in place that nurture this. Innocent people must plead guilty for a more forgiving sentence. Only the wealthy can afford the best lawyers to advocate for them and the privilege to plead not guilty if they so choose. Police stops are often based off of pre-conceived stereotypes (whether consciously or unconsciously). Innocence is therefore dependent on the systems in place rather than Truth. |
Spring quarter 2020 took place in the midst of some of the most world-changing events. As I reflect on this past quarter, I realize the world will never be the same again and it would be wrong of me to expect this. When Spring quarter first began, I remember wishing for September to come so things could be "normal" again. But as Spring quarter ends, I realize that maybe my "normal" version of the world wasn't all that great to begin with. There is much progress to be made, and I am grateful to be living in a country where people have a voice and a vote to change a normal that isn't working.
I have realized more than ever how important the people in my life are, and that I really have taken for granted the ability to see and talk to them in-person. Zoom is amazing, but it's just not the same. I have especially missed being able to gather together and worship at church, but I am thankful that sermons are still live-streamed. The challenges I've experienced this quarter were more psychological than anything. I applied to Informatics for the first time, and I wasn't accepted. It honestly felt like the end of the world to me for a couple of days. I felt like everything I had done this past year had gone to waste because I needed to take completely new pre-requisites again for other majors. I also felt like I had let my parents down--all the money they had spent this past year, and now I was back at level 0. Of course, all these negative thoughts were self-invoked. I ended up meeting with advisors soon after, asking questions about other majors, and asking friends for advice. Although I was still disappointed, I discovered that there are options I am open to even if they aren't Informatics. If I really want to do data science or cybersecurity, there is a way. What I major in is just a broad generalization of my skills and is not truly telling of what I know or what I can do.
Most importantly, I also learned to see God through all of this. What may have seemed like a setback to me might just be evidence of God working something amazing. The passage, "Jesus' Teaching on Prayer" from Luke 11 reminds me that there is no prayer that God will not answer. If I ask for a fish, he will not give me a snake. If I ask for an egg, he will not give me a scorpion. Likewise, it is ridiculous for me to even think that if I ask the Lord for something, he will give me something I do not want. And so in all things, I've learned how important it is to pray. Pray for the world, pray for perfect justice to be served, pray for deliverance. Prayer is powerful and the Lord will not delay in his answer.
I have realized more than ever how important the people in my life are, and that I really have taken for granted the ability to see and talk to them in-person. Zoom is amazing, but it's just not the same. I have especially missed being able to gather together and worship at church, but I am thankful that sermons are still live-streamed. The challenges I've experienced this quarter were more psychological than anything. I applied to Informatics for the first time, and I wasn't accepted. It honestly felt like the end of the world to me for a couple of days. I felt like everything I had done this past year had gone to waste because I needed to take completely new pre-requisites again for other majors. I also felt like I had let my parents down--all the money they had spent this past year, and now I was back at level 0. Of course, all these negative thoughts were self-invoked. I ended up meeting with advisors soon after, asking questions about other majors, and asking friends for advice. Although I was still disappointed, I discovered that there are options I am open to even if they aren't Informatics. If I really want to do data science or cybersecurity, there is a way. What I major in is just a broad generalization of my skills and is not truly telling of what I know or what I can do.
Most importantly, I also learned to see God through all of this. What may have seemed like a setback to me might just be evidence of God working something amazing. The passage, "Jesus' Teaching on Prayer" from Luke 11 reminds me that there is no prayer that God will not answer. If I ask for a fish, he will not give me a snake. If I ask for an egg, he will not give me a scorpion. Likewise, it is ridiculous for me to even think that if I ask the Lord for something, he will give me something I do not want. And so in all things, I've learned how important it is to pray. Pray for the world, pray for perfect justice to be served, pray for deliverance. Prayer is powerful and the Lord will not delay in his answer.