I spoke with freshman computer science student Nehir Keskin about her experience so far at USC. In this post, I’ll be sharing her thoughts on all things USC and computer science!
Nehir realized she wanted to study computer science after she discovered her love of problem-solving. She started taking coding classes and found she excelled at them, especially enjoying writing algorithms for specific purposes. She also mentioned that she finds high satisfaction when the algorithm runs correctly (which, I imagine, any computer science student would).
When asked about one thing that surprised her about USC computer science, she mentioned the amount of office hour sessions available to her. For her CS 170 class, there are six teaching assistants (TAs) that host two sessions each, in addition to the professor’s sessions. Nehir found these to be helpful and was pleasantly surprised at the amount of help available to her outside of regular class hours.
Aside from school, Nehir likes to spend time with friends and explore the Los Angeles area. One of her favorite places to go is the beach, and her three favorites are Venice, Manhattan, and Santa Monica. She also enjoys visiting cute cafes to study and hitting the gym to stay active.
Looking to her future at USC and beyond, Nehir wants to begin her career at a smaller firm as a software engineer to gain experience. Ultimately, though, she wants to build her own startup. When thinking of her plans, Nehir mentioned that USC offers many resources for students and their desires, plans, and goals. There are career fairs often, and students can book an advising appointment at any time. In her first semester at USC, Nehir attended a resume workshop and unexpectedly connected with a recruiter whose company wasn’t hiring freshmen. Regardless, the recruiter told Nehir to email her next year for potential opportunities. (That, my friends, is a prime example of the Trojan network.)
That wraps up our conversation with Nehir! I’m looking forward to seeing all she accomplishes at USC and after.
From me and Nehir both, Fight On!
