CSUSM College Majors Talk

• Background
• Thoughts before the Panel
• Notes
  • Stories
  • CSUSM Fun Facts
  • Representatives
  • Pathways and Departments
  • Admittance Guidance
  • Toothbrush Demo
• Takeaways and Reflection
• Insights

Background

On March 28th, 2023, some representatives came from California State University of San Marcos. I believe the purpose of these representatives were to get students interested in coming to CSUSM because of their majors. They wanted to attend a class that students were interested in that could lead to a STEM Major, this could get students interested in pursuing STEM Majors and get them interested.

Thoughts before the Panel

As a student who is in AP Computer Science, I found the talk from CSUSM to be very useful. As a junior, I have not had too many college talks except for the ones that come and visit Del Norte in the beginning of the year. A lot of students don’t talk about California State Universities because many of them end up going to Universities of California, as our school has many high-achievers. I was surprised when the speaker said she failed some courses, and still managed to get into CSUSM, which was interesting as CSUSM still accepted her. Learning that failure is not only normal but can also lead to new opportunities was one important thing I learned and remember during any struggles I have during Computer Science or other classes.

Notes

Here are some notes that I took during the

I was very surprised to see how many students from APCSP and APCSA showed up today, I guess they all wanted the extra credit and wanted to learn more about the CSU System. I know that I personally wanted to learn more about the CSU system and find out how it compared to the UC System.

Stories

• The representatives mentioned that they failed some of their classes but they did not give up, and they kept going on to pursue a STEM Major
• They failed STEM specific classes such as Calculus and Physics but they kept going on
• Despite failing, they were still able to obtain a PHD
• CalState helped them to gain a lot of knowledge and opened a whole door of opportunities

CSUSM Fun Facts

• 18% of CSUSM is enrolled in the College of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics
• California State University of San Marcos is a newer college
• They have a new Engineering Building and College
• This college is a national leader in social mobility
• One of my Spanish Teachers attended this university, and this is when I was first introduced to this college

Representatives

• John:
  • A computer scientist who graduated from Cal State San Marcos
  • He is from Escondido
  • Started at Palomar College for 2 years and later transferred to Cal State San Marcos
  • Obtained a computer science degree
  • Took about 6 years to get bachelor’s degree
  • He believes computer science is a very versatile field to get into
• Ashley:
  • Also graduated from Cal State San Marcos
  • Works in a quantum computing group
  • Loves physics and pursued it in college (got physics degree)
    • Even though she failed AP Physics in high school, she still decided to pursue it (she believes that even if you aren’t very good at something, you can still pursue it if it’s interesting and fun to you)
  • She will later try to earn a PhD for material science and engineering

Pathways and Departments

• CSUSM has many STEM focused pathways for students especially in Physics
• The pathways of CSUSM include
  • Chemistry
  • Biochemistry
  • Applied Physics
  • Electronics
  • Biology
  • Computer Science
  • Cybersecurity
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Computer Engineering
• The departments of CSUSM include
  • Physics
  • Chemistry
  • Biotechnology
  • Mathematics
  • Computer Science

Admittance Guidance

• Clubs are an important part of getting into a college
• You should join many clubs that pertain to your interests and that you should participate in them as much as possible
• CSUSM also has clubs available on campus
  • Cybersecurity Club
  • Robotics Club
  • 3D Printing Club
• Clubs that I am in are CTF Club, Robotics, Coding4Kidz, Chemistry Tutoring Club, Badminton Club, Del Norte Food Bank Club, Helping Hands, and Tech Space
• It is important to be in clubs during your undergraduate years
• Internships are a great way to get into college and they can really help you with your career
• The worst thing someone can say when you apply is that you are not qualified enough, that is not true, and that you should apply anyways
• Sometimes internships might not require a lot of knowledge where other internships may require knowledge or some courses such as Computer Science Principles
• Internships are an important way to be a part of research and help you get into college
• Google is a great resource for finding any internships
• Internships come in all shapes and sizes, and there is one for every field, but a lot of STEM focused internships
• When you are applying for internships, it is important that you know everything that is required and show why you deserve this internship and show your passions
• Internships can be useful when you are trying to determine your interests and exposing yourself to experiences
• One of the CSUSM representatives said they had an internship and that helped her to confirm her major of Mechanical Engineering
• If looking for an internship, you should try and find one that is paid
• If you get a paid internship, you are basically getting paid to pursue their interests
• Interests can be found in internships
• Check your emails frequently and look for opportunities
• Another way to get into college is by finding scholarships
• Many scholarships are offered to students, and you can receive a lot of money
• CSUSM has many programs such as the Summer Scholars Program which allows you to do research with a professor
• CSUSUM also has Quantam, which is a $1500 scholarship and it allows you to learn quantum science
• Scholarships can help to decrease your student debt which many people have
• College Debt is a very real thing, and the representatives still have some to pay off
• There are two types of loans
  • Subsidized Loan: This is a loan partially funded by the government, these loans are usually loans for undergraduate students with financial need
  • Subsidized loans don’t accumulate interest while you are in school at least half-time or during deferment periods
  • Unsubsidized Loan: An unsubsidized loan are both undergraduate and graduate students. Unlike subsidized loans, they are not based on financial need, also, the government doesn’t pay interest for this type of loan.
  • Since they are partially funded by the government, if you had to take a loan because you are not financially able to go to college, it’s best to take a subsidized loan

Toothbrush Demo

One thing that was interesting about this panel was the interactive demo that we did with the toothbrush which I thought was interesting and I really liked it. It made me feel a little bit like a kid again, because I don’t really get to do these kinds of things anymore. I felt just like an engineer talking to other students about how this worked and why it worked.

First we used a battery to start vibrations to the toothbrush head and make it move as well as spin around in a circle

Next we had to use wires and connect the battery to the wires and then put electrical tape over the wires and battery to connect them

A couple of my old groupmates, Sachit and Colin, and even my new groupmates like James were working on this in a group, and one of them finished and it was so cool to see

Here is a video of a robot that we got working and what it was supposed to look like

Takeaways and Reflection

After listening to this panel, I have found myself becoming more and more excited about Computer Science and other STEM majors. I found that it is very important to learn from your experiences and try to become better by working hard. I also learned that even if you failed some classes, you can still work hard and go to CSUSM because you can learn more and work harder. I also learned that Mechanical Engineering was a prominent major that many people took at CSUSM, which was interesting because I want to become a Mechanical Engineer, and I thought that not many people actually chose that major. I talked with the person afterwards about Mechanical Engineer and I was told that there are so many different things she does, and knowing how to code was one of them, she says that Computer Science unlocks so many different skills, and is a big part of trying to understand Mechanical Engineering, and the language she uses the most is Python. To connect this to today’s event, Ashley mentioned that she is working towards getting a PHD, which is impressive and that she is working hard to obtain it, and this resided with me because I want to major in Mechanical Engineering.

Insights

Everything that Ashley said was what I resided with the most because she was someone who took on Mechanical Engineering even after she failed. She said that she took a paid internship which confirmed her interests of becoming a Mechanical Engineer. This was interesting because she failed AP Physics and might have been discouraged after that, but she still went on and worked hard towards that goal. Now she is earning her PHD which was inspiring. I want to become a Mechanical Engineer when I grow up, and I am also taking AP Physics next year, many of my friends have a hard time with that class, and I am a little scared, but knowing how she failed this class but is still going on brings a little comfort to me. She also said that try and get a paid internship rather than an unpaid one because you are getting paid to pursue your interests. When I talked to her about Mechanical Engineering, I learned how important Physics and now I plan on putting a lot of time and effort into Physics next year. Another thing that she told me that as a Mechanical Engineer, they do a lot of hands-on work, and I really like to do this, and when she said this, this somewhat confirmed my want to become a Mechanical Engineer. I have also learned that it is important to be active in Computer Science, and in order to further my learning experience with Computer Science, I have been hoping to finish the online Harvard Computer Science Class. Computer Science can help one to develop skills that is necessary in many other careers with the benefit of learning how to program. Personally, I think I should continue Computer Science even after High School. I have been keeping my eye on the Harvard Computer Science Class for a while, and I think this event has inspired me to finally start it.

The hands on experiment was also really cool because it made me want to become an engineer even more, and there were many people that I think also felt the same way, and really enjoyed this experience and wanted to do more like this. I think this event was huge because of the interactive activity that we as students don’t get to do too much of anymore.