Interdisciplinary Honors Portfolio

Honors Autumn Reflection

Vincent Wilson

HONORS 100 (AL)

11/19/21

My goals and expectations for myself have not changed, but rather intensified since Autumn quarter. When I came to UW, I was somewhat interested in CS grad school. Now, after attending the UW and taking my first college CS course, I can say that I’m even more interested in CS now. One of the biggest reasons for my increased interest is in fact the first honors course I took, CSE 390.

CSE 390 isn’t a traditional honors course, in the sense that it is only a once weekly seminar and is specifically attached to CSE 143. At first, I was apprehensive about taking an evening seminar that lasted 2 hours. What could the professor possibly fill the time with? However, after just one or two classes, I saw just how interesting an honors CS seminar could be. Professor Reges, who teaches the course, has a few stances that I disagree with. Rather than shutting down opposing viewpoints, Professor Reges encourages them. This made for the first classroom where the learning is done through debate and discussion rather than by copying down notes from a teacher.

Some of the most interesting discussions were about how to reconcile free speech and social media. I am still unsure of my stance on the issue, but I’ve found that I love to dive into thinking about it. Honors and CSE 390 have shown me that grad school might be an interesting way to keep exploring.

The Honors 100 seminar was also an intriguing seminar. I learned about different opportunities and requirements of the honors program, and how to best take advantage of and meet each. I also had the opportunity to attend an honors advising meeting with Ms. Willis. I was able to get a lot of useful information on what courses to sign up for for my imminent registration.

Going forward, I hope to have taken 2-3 more Honors classes by the end of my Freshman year. I am currently registered for SCAND 330/ Honors 211 and am excited because it's my first VLPA course at UW. I was also very fortunate to have gotten registered for CSE 331, a requirement for my major. Lastly, there is MATH 125, which I’m a little bit nervous about since it will be my first math class while also being the second class in the series. Nevertheless, I know that I’ll be well prepared with all of the resources, in and out of honors, that I’ll have access to.

Once again looking into the future, in Spring quarter, there is a special course in the CSE department, CSE 492 that focuses on the intersections between radio communications technology and CS. The professor, Joshua Smith, has a lot of wireless communication research that I find fascinating. Even though it is somewhat of a niche course, the honors program has given me the confidence and love for eclectic topics to gobble up such a course. I hope that throughout all four years at UW, I will continue to pursue topics that truly interest me and that I am passionate about.

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