Many of my friends know I listen to a lot of Korean pop. Because of my love to Korean music, I have become interested in Korean culture. As someone who also comes from an Asian background, it is interesting to see the differences between Japanese and Korean cultures, as well as the tensions between the two countries. In fact, I only learned about the tensions between the two countries because I had become interested in Korean culture. This is something I would have known if I had lived and grown up in Japan. The tensions come from the imperialistic era of Japan, where they conquered some of China, Korea, etc. Unfortunately, the people living under Japanese rule were exploited so this resentment has lasted for quite a while. It doesn't help that Japan has not formally apologized for the wrongdoings.

However, this has not deterred me from being interested in Korean culture. Unfortunately, UC doesn't offer any sort of Korean class. Instead, I was wondering if Korea has something like Japan's JLPT test for foreigners to prove their language proficiency. And I found it! It is called Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK). This made me think that for one of my honors experiences, I could try learning the language and attempt to pass the first level. I looked at a practice exam and wow does it look difficult. I will probably end up putting more than 75 hours into it haha! But because it is something I already had an interest in and would probably do anyway, it's worth it. 

Today I met with my academic advisor for CS. This was my first time meeting her because over winter break, my CS advisor changed. She was organized and friendly, just as an advisor should be. I was thankful that she had put in the effort to know what I was doing outside of CS before even meeting me (in regards to the University Honors Program and my coop program). She also considered different programs that I might be interested in and we talked about those during our meeting as well. I definitely enjoyed speaking with her more than my previous advisor and I'm excited to work with her for the next 4 years.

Today I had the opportunity to attend a "Cloud Study Jam" hosted by a Google Campus Representative at UC. We used the Google Cloud Platform and Qwiklabs tutorials to learn more about the power of cloud computing. As someone who wants to minor in Business Analytics (the closest UC has to a data science degree for undergraduates), cloud computing is something that is highly used in the world of data science.

We learned about Google Cloud Platform as being an Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a Service, and Software as a Service, which is why it makes it so easy for businesses and researchers to do cloud computing without the need of a physical server and upkeeping. The labs are timed, so it prevented me from fully understanding what was going on but I think I got a good preview. As part of the Study Jam, we got $100 credits toward the Google Cloud Platform, so I am excited to try it out and see if I can learn a little bit more about it.

As my first year in college comes close to an end, I thought about some of the things I have accomplished so far and the many more things I would like to accomplish. Here is a simple reflection post on what I am thinking about.

1. I should (have) become more active on campus
   There are so many opportunities for personal growth on UC's campus that I haven't taken advantage of. Although I tried to go to student org meetings in the beginning of the year, especially for ACM, ACM-W, WiT, SWE, IEEE, etc., I quickly stopped going. Some of that was due to increasing workload in my classes but I also missed the chance to connect with so many amazing seniors who are going to graduate soon. I'm starting to connect with them now, but to think that I could have gotten to learn more from them if I had known them earlier makes me feel like I could have done better. With every event I attend (RevolutionUC, WiT's trip to WeCode Harvard), I feel a greater sense of community as well.
   
   Goals for next semester: Get involved! Try to get a leadership position! Go to events!
   
   
2. My WeCode experience
   In late February, I attended the WeCode Harvard conference hosted by female computer science students at, you guessed it, Harvard University. There were some great speakers by women leaders in the industry and good workshops. But what I learned the most was the importance of networking. The amount of information you can learn in one weekend is pretty limited, but the connections you make with people can last a long time and go a long way. I ended up making some new friends who I could connect with in ways I couldn't before. I don't have many female coder friends so I am glad I got the opportunity to connect with some great gals.
   
   Goals: Attend Grace Hopper 2019!


3. What can I do to help CS become more 50/50?
   It's almost been two years since I received a Certificate of Distinction from the National Center for Women & Information Technology. One of the things I emphasized in my essay for the Award in Aspirations was my goal to spread knowledge about the field of computer science and technology to young women who may not have the opportunity to learn about it because of stereotypes/lack of resources. It was amazing going to WeCode Harvard and seeing so many other women like me! What can I do to help girls in elementary/middle/high school lean towards tech?
   
   Goals for next semester: Think about ways to spread knowledge/ implement a program!
   
   
4. College is not just about good grades
   As someone who has always valued getting good grades and having a high GPA, I have to remember that in the real world, we're not always defined by numbers (except for our credit scores). The things we experience, the challenges we face, the opportunities we receive dictate what we do with our lives. And although this may sound like a repeat of #1, taking advantage of the resources around me is something I need to do. In a field like computer science, a 4.0 doesn't mean anything if you can't problem solve and improve a process/program. If you can do both, that's great, but it's not always realistic.
   
   Goals: Be well rounded! Don't think that trying to get good grades is all I need to do!

Today I had the opportunity to attend Women in Technology (WiT)'s Capture the Flag event. The event was for beginner/intermediate levels, which was perfect for my first Capture the Flag. It exposed me to the linux system and how to use terminals. As a CS major, I've heard a lot of people like linux, so I was glad that I could play around with it on a safe space on the VM. My partner and I got second place, and received a touch screen hacking device and a Raspberry pi gaming system, respectively. I can't wait until the summer so that I can play around with my new Raspberry pi!