2025-12-23

This semester felt like the first time everything started to click for me academically and personally, and that matters more than having a perfectly clean transcript. I made the decision to aim for graduate school—leaning toward Ph.D. and post‑bacc programs instead of a traditional master’s because the funded, research‑heavy route makes more sense for the kind of long‑term ROI and impact I want. Even though I barely missed my “all A’s” goal by a few points in two classes, this was the first time I actually cared about my grades from day one, and the outcome reflects that shift in mindset far more than any single letter on a report ever could.

One of the biggest changes this semester was how much more I engaged with people. I stopped treating outreach as something to do only when I needed a favor and instead started checking in, building relationships, and being genuinely curious about others. Through Code2College, I got my first mentor and picked up a better sense of “why?”—why people make the choices they do, why communication lands or falls flat, and how much body language and confidence shape the way I come across. That mindset carried over into industry and academia, where being more proactive led to more opportunities, from ideathons to research with multiple professors, and reinforced that people really do love talking about themselves if given the space and the right questions.

The sheer intensity of this semester also forced me to get serious about systems. Juggling a heavy course load, research, recruiting, and life meant I had to constantly re‑evaluate how I was managing my time instead of just pushing harder with the same broken approach. After midterms, it became obvious that the foundations I had laid were solid but incomplete—so I made myself iterate: new routines, better planning, and a fixed sleep schedule that made everything else more sustainable. Once those changes kicked in, the “rose growing from concrete” feeling finally started to show up: my grades rebounded, I was more present in class and meetings, and I had enough energy to say yes to things like ideathons and research instead of constantly playing catch‑up.

There were still misses. I fell just short of the all‑A’s semester I was gunning for, got rejected from a lot of companies, and couldn’t get Algoverse AI Research off the ground the way I had hoped. But those “failures” did not cancel out the wins—they sat alongside them: securing a summer internship with Atlassian in SF, winning my first ideathon, doing real research with professors, and solidifying a healthier daily rhythm. The rejections and stalled projects mostly highlighted where my systems, timing, or bandwidth weren’t there yet, not that I was fundamentally incapable.

Looking ahead, grad school is still the big question mark. My CV is strong enough for a lot of master’s programs, but when stacked against applicants for top‑tier Ph.D. and post‑bacc routes, it is easy to fixate on what is missing: no publications yet, a GPA that is passable at best, and projects or research that are still in progress instead of already wrapped up with a bow. At the same time, this semester proved that when the stakes rise, I can adapt, tighten my systems, and actually deliver: nearly all A’s, deeper research involvement, and a growing network across industry and academia. That combination—real growth, a clearer sense of “why,” and the willingness to iterate—is exactly what needs to carry into the next year as I turn this momentum into a profile that feels Ph.D.‑ and post‑bacc‑ready, not just “good enough” for grad school on paper.

Semester Stats

1 ideathon
3 certifications
7 classes
19 credit hours
147 notes
165 commits
1208 followers

Courses Taken

CS 3345 – Data Structures & Algorithms
CS 3354 – Software Engineering
CS 3377 – Systems Programming in Unix & Other Environments
CS 3341 – Probability & Statistics in CS/SE
CGS 3346 – Python for BioBehavioral Data
ECS 2390 – Professional & Technical Communication
CS 3162 – Professional Responsibility in CS/SE

Next Courses

CS 4341 – Digital Logic & Computer Design
CS 4141 – Digital Logic Lab
CS 4347 – Database Systems
CS 4301 – Fundamentals of Quantum Computing
CS 4365 – Artificial Intelligence
PHYS 4350 - Quantum Algorithms & Software