How would you describe your EP to someone who has never heard of it before?

My EP was basically a starter course in robotics at The Cooper Union (Albert Nerken School of Engineering). We are taught the work from a semester course that is compressed into 6 weeks. We started off with building a robot during week one, and the rest of the program was simply coding our robot to perform different tasks. The main coding language we used throughout the course was C++, and the IDE or software application we used to code was called Arduino. At the end of the course, we had a final project which was to code our robot to move, while avoiding different obstacles. We also had a final presentation and showcase at the end of the program in front of our friends and families.

What is a typical day like during your EP?

A typical day during my EP starts off at 9:00am with 3 hours in class either listening to a lecture, or working on a small group or paired coding project. Then from 12:00pm to 1:00pm we have lunch. There are numerous food places around the Cooper building, so there are a variety of options to choose from. After getting lunch, my friends and I usually go to the 8th floor terrace to eat, or we pick a different spot in the building. After lunch, there are 2 more hours of class, which are usually just focused on the small coding projects and challenges rather than lectures, and then the day is over by 3:00pm.

What was the biggest challenge of your EP?

The biggest challenge of my EP was that I had never coded with C++ before, so when coming into the class, I was a novice and was often confused all the time. I even tried self-studying at home. I watched different videos on C++ coding, but when I felt like I understood something, I would walk into class the next day, and the professor would move on to a different concept, leading me to continue to be confused. Sometimes I also felt less than the other people in my class because they were in specialized high schools, and some of them took AP computer science, so the class came easy to them. I felt myself doubting if I really deserved to be in that class and if I was smart enough to be there, or if I was just a quota for the class (I was the only fully African/African American person in the class).

What was the biggest reward of your EP?

The biggest reward from my EP was definitely being able to write my own code. I struggled so much in that class, so when I wrote my own code for different projects and tasks and it worked, it felt incredibly rewarding. Usually when I write code, it never works on the first try. I have to debug the code, and it usually takes a couple attempts before it carries out the task I want it to do, but the feeling when it actually works is exhilarating, especially when I felt like I wouldn’t be able to do the task. Also, sometimes when your code/program compiles, that doesn’t mean that it will actually work. It just means you wrote code that makes sense, but not necessarily one that does what you wanted it to, so it can be discouraging when that happens, but again, it feels rewarding when you fix the logic or syntax issue in your code and it works.

What do you wish you had known before you went on your EP?

I wish I had known how to do at least basic C++ coding so that I wouldn’t have been so confused throughout the program, but I also wish I knew or had at least had some experience with being in situations where I was one of the only people of color around. That may sound weird, but being the only African/African American person in my class made me feel super weird and self conscious, and it took a while for me to really feel comfortable in the class. So maybe if I had an experience being in that type of situation before, it wouldn’t have taken me so long to feel comfortable.