The Berlin Wall of Educational Resources

Hey guys!

I know it's been about six months since I've posted anything here.  I've been going through some really important life remodeling (relationship status change, moving from California to Texas, going back to school for a second degree in computer science), but I hope to continue sharing on this blog in the near future.  School has kept me especially occupied, and now that the spring semester has kicked into gear I probably won't be posting much here until the summer.  I will however be posting weekly to an alternate blog covering a really fascinating internship I'm involved in, so if you want to keep reading stuff from me, you can find that here. 

Today I wanted to talk a little bit about resources.  Since I've started working on my CS degree, I've realized how important certain top-quality, foundational classes and tools are in the formative student years (middle/high school) - classes and tools that I didn't have simply because of where I lived. 

Over the years I’ve come to realize that, while intelligence can give you a head start in the world, resources keep you there.  They say, “It’s all about who you know,” but it is also about what you have and how you use it.

Makin' it rain

Every year back in high school I competed in the Regional Science Fair, hoping to earn helpful experience and scholarship awards to fulfill my college dreams.  I stared in awe at my peer’s displays, astounded at their impressive lab equipment and advanced topics that just happened to align with their “mentor’s” research.  In those moments I felt like a fish in a tank, looking out to the ocean beyond but unable to derive any means of accessing it.  I regarded my display entitled “The Eyes Have It,” a psychological study of pupil dilation under various visual stimuli.  It was the product of my own curiosity and a camcorder borrowed from the library, yielding no scientific accuracy whatsoever.  I was proud of it, yet it did not seem like enough.

Science!!!

When I was accepted into a prestigious university, I was further perplexed to see freshmen like me in advanced Biology or Chemistry courses.  “I took the AP intro class in high school,” they would say.  I recalled my embarrassingly short list of AP classes with confusion.  I had been proud of earning credit for AP Calculus and English, but I had no idea that so many other AP courses were even offered in high school.  Once again I felt so far behind, so astoundingly inadequate.

What is words?!

Today I look back on each of those moments with gratitude, because they fostered in me a sense of ambition and creative drive.  Because I was not gifted with a plethora of resources, I had to fight for access to them or, alternatively, discover unique solutions that did not require those resources.  Now that I am fortunate enough to be a student at a well-established university, finally possessing the access that I always envied, I am aware of an efficiency and appreciation that could have only come from struggle, and it has molded me into a deeper individual. 

I must also acknowledge the impressive efforts of my mom and all the teachers I had the pleasure of working with in high school.  It was their hard work just as much as mine – staying late to put the finishing touches on a project, informing me of every scholarship that I was eligible for, encouraging me in all those moments that I felt inadequate, and opening my eyes to the wealth of possibilities in the world – that made me the person I am today. 

That person is one dedicated to giving others what I didn't have.  I've seen students like myself struggle through school not because of a lack of intelligence, but simply due to lack of exposure.  At the same time, the students who fly through their classes and end at the top are usually the ones who had seen the material before (in high school or at Math camp or in their parent's office) and had more time to become familiar with it.  I hope to provide free access to this type of education via educational games and apps.  I want to eliminate that feeling of inadequacy through early exposure - to give students from all backgrounds equal access.

Hopes for the future

I know there are so many avenues yet to pursue as a college student and beyond and with them many more moments of feeling ignorant or out of touch.  But because of my past struggles and the support of those around me, I no longer see that ignorance as stupidity, but rather opportunity – opportunity that I hope to pass on to those after me.