Hi I’m Vicky! I am a third year undergraduate student in the BXA program with Information Systems and Music Technology. I am from Baltimore, Maryland, graduated from a public high school of ~400 people, and have a lot of perspectives to share with others. Because of my interdisciplinary major, I have made friends with many students from both the artistic side and the technical side of CMU, both I think is very strong! I came to CMU as a physics major and it took me quite a while to accept the artistic side of me and form a community with them in the form of clubs and people. It also took me some time to figure out how to enjoy what I learn in my technical areas, especially since the curriculum for certain CS classes were difficult for me. I’ve found a balance of classes and extracurricular that work for me, and I am excited to encourage future possible students to create their own paths too!

Hometown

Baltimore, Maryland

Major(s)

Information Systems, Music Technology

Clubs, organizations & involvement

Lunar Gala (student run fashion show), No Parking Players (improv performance troupe), Women at School of Computer Science, Lemon Publication (school magazine), Club Baseball, ACDC (Chinese dance), Scotch n Soda, IMO

Describe your college experience

I came to college as a bright eyed but introverted freshman. I had an idea of what I enjoyed doing but was a bit shy and had a hard time figuring out how to get along with people. Eventually I found some clubs I really enjoyed, met some people who I vibed well with in mutual classes and friends, and started having fun with my personality and relaxing, and I think this solidified who people thought I was and allowed those people who liked who I was to surround me more. School-wise, I’ve always been focused on school but I definitely separated work from my life much more now, which actually helped me enjoy learning more. I love exploring passion projects and talking about weird ideas with my classmates.

Tip for future students

It sounds cheesy but you need to make space for yourself to be authentic and truly engaged in whatever you want to do. Find people that make you comfortable and will accompany you through adventures.

Favorite class

My favorite class is a course called Sound Recording, where you learn about the entire process of how sound travels and become stored in the computer. It’s super hands-on and the professor allows you to set up the recording equipment and also set up the computer to record, it’s a pretty cool eye opening experience into the audio recording world. Additionally, you learn to apply some basic effects onto the tracks after recording. The projects are pretty pleasant and I think the class can be useful for a wide variety of applications, whether you’re recording self tapes or starting a podcast or maybe just doing a cool school project!

Career goals

I want to work in the music industry in a technical job, and then double-agent as a music producer!

Ideal way to spend a free night

Working on passion projects with other people!

High school or secondary school

Dulaney High School

Favorite spot on campus

I love outdoor “third spaces,” so places where you can hang out with people outside are always my favorites. My ultimate spot is probably between Posner and Hunt Library, it’s close enough to see and feel the liveliness of the campus center, but you’re still a bit separated from the main area so you can chit chat, do work, or relax a bit. And it has some really pretty cool designs in the areas to sit!