Confessions of a CS and Design Major#
As our time here in Belgium comes to close, let’s just say that the past 72 hours have been a whirlwind (I know this blogpost is late but lets just pretend its on time for old times sake). From functionality breaking every 5 minutes because of a simple syntax error to my Github and Docker simultaneously completely giving up on me and deciding to fail for one of the main project days, it’s definetly had its ups and downs. However, with all that being said I can say that its been a completely rewarding experience being able to bond with everyone over errors and struggles and seeing the end product for everyone’s projects. Working together with Carson and Dylan was definetly an enlightening experience to not only work together as a team, but having to fully collaborate on the data science and computer science aspects of the project from concept to deployment.
To be completely transparent, I was definetly worried about my technical abilities while on this trip. While I knew a little bit about sql from my time taking Principles of Information Science, I was worried about my skill level compared to everyone else on the dialgue and felt a large sense of imposter syndrome. The most Python code I had written prior to this dialogue was merely two lines that were the equivalent of “hello world” for my friend who was taking Foundations of Data Science, and the last time I had actually coded was nearly a year ago in Seattle while taking Object-Oriented Design. In some ways I was dusting off the old skills that unfortunetly I don’t think I kept up with as much as I would have liked, but luckily with my team we were able to balance each other very nicely and learn from each other. Between the three of us, we managed to bring out the best of each other, with us all having expertise in different areas within computer science and data science. I could say that my knowledge of data science was very limited prior to the dialogue, but I’ve gained some insight into that area of data science and especially machine learning.
Project Mania#
In the last phase of our project, it was really about the fine tuning and functionality of the app. Some of the most common errors and mistakes I encountered was working with a new coding language and having to get things transcribed in some ways and looking through and at documentation. In some ways its was like riding a bike for the first time in a triathalon - logistically not the brightest idea, but somehow crossing the finish line with just enough spare time. It wasn’t that much different from Java or even R, but I think the added pressure of being a cs major and not knowing how to code in Python definetly added pressure.
Another issue I encountered was ocassionally having conceptual issues. I would be given a feature to implement or an error and it would take me considerably longer to figure things out, which in a normal scenario would be okay since I would time to come back the next day or later on with a fresh set of eyes and do just as good. Not the case here 😀! There was always something to do or work on that needed fixing, implementation, or just overall scrapping entirely which led to many nights up at 3 am and having ever-lasting migraines.
All of this to say that I would definelty do it again if given a second chance (just bring an extra presciption of migraine meds). The skills and knowledge that I learned throughout the last four weeks was more than I’ve learned in almost 4 months of classes for some classes. In some ways, having such a high stakes project being the source of my main and only grade was a sort of a motivator to not only get the work done, but also undertsand it conceptually which is something I haven’t done in a while.
Can’t wait to show off my new and improved resume to Dr. Fontenot during his office hours! Here’s a sneak preview as to what I plan on writing:
Subleva - Migration Analytics Web Application | SQL, Python, Flask, Streamlit - Developed REST API using Flask to facilitate real-time data storage and retrieval for migration data. - Built a front-end interface using Streamlit, allowing users to interact with the backend the web application. - Generated mock data and inserted data from web scraping to compile into the backend database.
Last Adventures in Leuven#
As all of much of the project took up alot of my time, that didn’t stop me from enjoy Belgium to its fullest capacity. The C-Mine exploration and the snall town of Genk was definetly on of the highlights of the trip for me and somewhere I would love to visit again (not only because of the ice cream). From the people that I met to actually walking through the small town and look at the architecture, it has been so beautiful and exciting to see to picture picture cities in Beligum.
But there is definetly one thing worth saying about this dialgue experience and my first international trip in general:
It would not haven been possible without Dr. Fontenot and Dr. Gerber for not only taking the time to help each and every single one of us at one time or another, not just in terms of the project, but for the care and consideration that was given in times of need, which is something that I will forever be grateful for.
