Matthew Siegfried ’08
Earth Science, Computer Science double major
X06-S07 D-plan: R-O (FSP)-L-R

Favorite and least favorite thing about department: My favorite thing is the sense of accomplishment I feel when I’ve finished a project, while my least favorite thing is the occasional lack of attention from the professors to the students.

Important info for potential majors: Look at what you’re interested in. You’ll figure out pretty quickly if you don’t like where you are.

Favorite class and professor: EARS 111 gave me a 2 week spring break in Hawaii. It’s hard to top that…

Major classes taken: COSC 5, 18, 19, 37

Major journey: I started with math and chemistry but realized they weren’t exactly what I was looking for. I then switched to EARS and CS, where I could still apply math and chemistry.

Other activities: Bones Gate

Gemma Ross ‘08
Computer Science modified with Animation
X06-S07 D-plan: R-R-L-R

Favorite and least favorite thing about department: One of my favorite things is how available every professor is. They hold consistent office hours and often times will help you even when they are not supposed to be available. I also love the way the classes bring the students together. Either because of the difficulty of certain assignments or a general attitude of the students I have always managed to get to know and befriend my classmates. I do not enjoy the fact that the CS department thinks so highly of itself by claiming that every course is very difficult. While many of them are, I think it pretentious to assume I have the time to devote most hours of every day to just one CS class (don’t worry, you don't need to do this for every class).rewarding.

Important info for potential majors: Do you enjoy programming? Or theory? Answering that question as soon as possible will help you decide which classes you want to take for the major and will also let you know which parts you will have the most difficulty with in the future. I've found that the determining factor on how well I do in CS is not natural ability but how interested I am in the project.

Internship experience: I had an internship with ASIFA-Hollywood winter of my junior year. ASIFA-Hollywood is one branch of an international animated film society. I helped create a database to hold the vast amounts of animation history stored in their archive. I learned an astonishing amount of animation history while also testing out my computer programming skills in the real world. I also got to go to an awards show and meet the creator of Ren & Stimpy!

Most valuable academic information learned: Go to your profs, even if you have the smallest question. They are incredibly useful and will always help you through either a homework problem, studying for an exam or debugging your code.

Favorite class and professor: Definitely Lorie Loeb. She teaches most of the computer animation classes. Whether you have considered animation or not, Lorie has the ability to inspire all of her students as well as push them to higher levels of accomplishment. I recommend CS 32 for every CS student. It is a wonderful outlet for the more artistic types and a great way to get rid of an ART distrib. I also liked CS 5 with Cormen, and CS 18 with Fromberger was always amusing. They both make fantastic jokes that at least keep you engaged in the class.

Major classes taken: CS 5, 12, 18, 22, 32, 37, 32; MATH 19; FILM 35; SART 15

Major journey: I had wanted to be a History or Government major my freshman year, but then I took Lorie's animation class sophomore fall and fell in love with the subject. There wasn’t before but is now an official CS major modified with Digital Arts making it that much easier for you to get into this.

Other activities: Rugby; Scene Shop (building sets for plays); Epsilon Kappa Theta- VP; CS 32 Teaching Assistant

Off Campus Program: Mathematics program with Budapest Semesters in Budapest F05. I took 3 math classes, 1 computer science class, and 1 philosophy class.

Other major-specific activities: I am working with a group to enter the Google sketch-up competition this spring. I also did an internship at ASIFA-Hollywood (one branch, the largest branch, of an inter-nation animated film society) my Junior winter in LA to design and implement a database for their archive.

Talk to me if: Talk to me if you are even slightly interested in Digital Arts (CS 22, 32, 42 and more!). I can answers questions about most required classes.

Thesis statuss: I'm hoping to be able to do a thesis in the form of an animation, but I don't know the topic yet.