CS373 Fall 2021: Nicholas Huang

Where did you grow up? What high school did you attend? What was your favorite extracurricular activity in high school? Why did you come to UT? Why are you majoring in CS?

Hi! My name is Nicholas Huang. I was born and raised in Houston, Texas and have spent a majority of my life in a little area called Spring. I attended Klein Oak High School and took part in UIL mathematics and computer science competitions throughout my four years there. During this time, I began exploring potential interests and discovered my passion towards solving difficult problems and developing solutions to real-world issues. I also had a lot of fun learning and honing my computer science skills in general, all of which had contributed to my decision to major in CS. This had ultimately convinced me to attend UT, which is known for its amazing computer science program (and in-state tuition |:D).

Why are you in this class?

I have heard nothing but positive comments about this course and about its instructor. I also took Object Oriented Programming with Professor Downing last semester, which ended up being a fantastic learning experience for me. These comments and experiences have ultimately convinced me to take SWE with Professor Downing.

What are your expectations of this class?

I hope to extend my knowledge of web programming skills and learn about how to improve my software engineering skills. Hopefully, by the end of this semester, I will be able to integrate the lessons gained from this course into my future projects and become a better software engineer.

How much Javascript/Python/SQL/Web programming do you already know?

I have decent experience with Javascript, Python, and SQL, but there is still much more for me to learn. I was able to hone my web programming skills during my summer internship, but I am always open to learn something new.

How did you like the first lecture?

I was already a huge fan of how Professor Downing structured his Object Oriented Programming lectures, so it puts me at ease to know that not much has changed. My only wonder is how these lectures will be structured in person, since my OOP experience only took place online.

How did you feel about the cold calling?

I had initially felt nervous about cold-calling, but I slowly began to appreciate it. In the end, they keep me focused and engaged in Professor Downing’s lectures.

What made you happy this week?

First and foremost: being back on campus, especially since I have been living at home for an entire year. It feels great to regain my familiarity with the campus’ community and being able to meet old friends in person. I only hope that this COVID nonsense will end soon.

What’s your pick-of-the-week or tip-of-the-week?

Don’t just use GitLab/GitHub issues to keep track of unfixed bugs. This feature is best used as a to-do list — each issue being a task or step towards implementing the project in question. Or even better, use a more-readable Kanban board, which is a built-in GitHub feature.