Spotlight: Computer Science

A photo of cornell engineering student PeterMy name is Pete, and I am a senior studying Computer Science in the College of Engineering. On campus I am part of several different organizations: Club Tennis, Chi Psi Fraternity, and Engineering Ambassadors. In my free time I enjoy reading autobiographies, listening to chill music, and playing my guitar.

I was born in Seoul, South Korea and moved to the suburbs of Illinois when I was seven years old. After four years in Illinois, my family and I moved to Manchester, Vermont. In the Winter of 2014, my father took a job opportunity in Saudi Arabia to work in the oil industry. After spending a year with them in the Middle East, I moved back to the U.S. to obtain my high school diploma at a boarding school in Connecticut. At the moment, I am living in collegetown, Ithaca.

My favorite place on campus is the Slope, near West Campus. This is my all-time favorite place to be because you get an amazing view of West Campus and the city of Ithaca. I also really love this place on campus because my friends are often spotted here reading, listening to music, or just simply enjoying the weather.

I came into Cornell as a Chemical Engineer; before Cornell I was very fond of Chemistry and anything STEM related. After my freshman year, I decided Computer Science was the perfect major for me as I really enjoyed working with computers and learning about how technology works in the world. I am so glad that I was able to transfer majors during my time at Cornell, and I can’t image where I would be now if I had not decided to study Computer Science.

Outside the classroom, I am involved in several side projects with my friends. One of these side projects is developing a mobile application that helps students track their habits and write daily journals in order to reflect on each day. This app is just one example of how I have been able to take advantage of the awesome engineering community around me.

I love Computer Science because it gives me a better understanding of the world around. Today, there are billions of smartphones and computers in the world; my degree gives me the background and education I need to fully understand the present technology and foresee future technologies as well. Computer Science at Cornell has given me the knowledge and experience to go out into the world and make an impact in the technology sector.

After graduating from Cornell, I plan to work full-time at Morgan Stanley in their algorithmic trading division. Throughout my years at Cornell, I was able to intern with Morgan Stanley to learn more about how technology and finance come together to create opportunities in the Fin-Tech industry. Many of my closest friends are working in the fin-tech space, but I also have many colleagues who are ready to join tech companies like Facebook, Amazon, Google, Uber, etc.

—Peter, computer science