My Early Dream

Deciding upon a major was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do in life. However, one thing was for certain: I wanted to help people in the field I chose. In elementary school, my dream was to become a surgeon, just like my uncle. However, I soon realized that I did not like the sight of blood, cuts, or anything related to the gruesome side of the medical field. Then, in sophomore year of high school, I decided to take an Advanced Placement (AP, college-level) computer science course. Little did I know that this was going to help decide my future.

Stress

Throughout the entire class, I loved starting on my programming assignments as soon as possible. I did so for two reasons:

1. I enjoyed doing the assignments for this class more than the others

2. I would typically have many questions that I needed to ask the teacher

Although I was enjoying programming in Java, I struggled with learning some of the key concepts and finding solutions to the errors I was coming across. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it, so much to the extent that I let my family know that this would most likely be my future career. Then, at the end of the course, the class was to take the final AP exam that would determine whether I would receive college credit for the course. When results day came around, I was disappointed to say the least. I had gotten a 3/5, which was passing, but essentially equivalent to a C. Just passing.

The Effect of My Grade

How could I do something for the rest of my life that I wasn’t the best at? If it really was my calling, why didn’t I score a perfect grade? At the age of 15, this score really affected me. So, for my final two years before college, I desperately searched for something else I would be interested in. I ended up choosing biomedical engineering, a major I had absolutely no experience in. However, the thought of being able to benefit others without having to look at many horrifying things intrigued me. Thus, I committed to the only university in my area that offered this major: Tulane University.

Life at Tulane

At Tulane, I had a very similar experience to the one I had in AP Computer Science. In most of my classes, I wasn’t getting the grades I was hoping for, and, most importantly, I didn’t even enjoy the courses I was taking. The more time passed, the more I grew to dread my major. During the summer after my freshman year, I decided to try some coding on my own. To my surprise, I remembered a decent of it. More surprisingly, I realized I still liked it. Even after my presumed failure in high school, I still had an affinity for the subject. On that same day, I explored the options of transferring to a university that offered computer science as a major. On the next day, I completed my transfer application and withdrew from Tulane University.

Life Now

One year has passed, and I can proudly say that I have not looked back at my decision since. I’ve loved my experience here at the University of New Orleans, and, more importantly, I now love my major. Additionally, I have been given the opportunity to work at Ochsner Health System to continue my life goal in helping others. With graduation soon approaching this December, I am anxious about what the future may hold. However, I do have some peace of mind knowing that I'm doing something I am truly passionate about.