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Every Wednesday after school, I embarked on the familiar journey to my Introduction to Health Sciences class. For three hours, I sat amongst my peers, captivated by our professor who discussed various biological processes, medical practices, and advancements being made in the field with us. Every Wednesday, for those three hours, I was absolutely enthralled. I enjoyed every minute of the lecture, and my notes reflected that, containing pages upon pages adorned with a plethora of comments, markings, and highlights showcasing my deep engagement with the subject matter. I looked forward to being picked up by my dad and telling him everything I learned, and his unwavering interest fueled my desire to learn. My path seemed clear—I was destined for a career in healthcare.

Yet, here I stand today, at the Viterbi School of Engineering, studying Electrical and Computer Engineering. Why? How did I pivot so much after being so sure I was going into healthcare?

Well, it’s a mixture of things. I was always surrounded by technology, with my mom relying on it in her field and my dad being an avid gamer. With this, I found myself playing the latest consoles and downloading the newest games, joining my dad in his love for gaming. However, I knew coming into college that this love of mine was simply not sustainable. If I wanted to incorporate gaming into my career, I’d find myself in the game development field, which is notoriously hard for females to break into. Therefore, mixing my education with my love for games seemed impossible, and I allowed my interest in health science to blossom instead. That’s how I found myself believing that healthcare was the best fit for me.

Until I built my PC. While it was an extremely tedious and expensive process, I selected each component and assembled my very first PC alone in my room. In those moments (more like a couple of days), my interest in hardware components grew. Alongside my research on how to assemble the PC itself, I found myself reading into each component and its purpose extensively. I found it mind-blowing that these little fragile components came together to create such a robust device. Once my PC was finally assembled, I immediately downloaded my favorite games and put it to the test.

Then, it clicked for me. Those little components I learned to love so much made up the PC that I could play games on. The power supply served as the heart, the motherboard as the veins, and the CPU as the brains. What if I studied how to design and assemble these components? My beloved GPU was crafted with the explicit purpose of enhancing gaming PCs, a testament to the designers and companies fueling the gaming community. It dawned on me—I could contribute as a component architect, forging a union between my newfound passion for technology and my enduring love for gaming.

And so, Electrical and Computer Engineering emerged as the ideal convergence point for my interests. I am filled with anticipation as I prepare to step out into the workforce, ready to play my part in shaping the very lifeblood of the gaming community.

Cecilia Betancourt

I am studying Electrical and Computer Engineering and I am from Delaware, Ohio. I will be graduating with the class of 2027. Outside of VSA, I often find myself in the lab for RPL as an Avionics team member or in my room streaming videogames to Twitch!