S-Stem Scholar Kathleen Corfman's Blog

      Based on what I learned in this class, i t seems to me like a speadsheet is a fast and easy way to make calculations before putting it into a database, and a database is used to manage and display the data in different ways. At least that’s what it seems like from my own experience. The majority of my Excel experience involves inputting a bunch of data into the cells, and then using different mathematical formulas for calculations, and then displaying it in a table. For example, in one of my engineering classes at Glendale Community College, we used different formulas to calculate say, the distance of different projectiles shot out at different angles. It doesn’t seem like SQL allows that sort of thing. It seems like you could use Excel to make the calculations for your dataset, and then use SQL for management and to sort and display the data in the database. For the group project, Jaira and I chose a CORGIS dataset with different cancer statistics for each state....

     This semester I learned a lot of valuable information about mental health, and I also learned more about my future Applied Computing classes. It felt really good talking to people in my major specifically about how difficult and stressful it is. I found out that many of them have the same struggles as me with coding, and I've realized this semester that if I'm struggling to solve a coding problem, chances are, many of my classmates are struggling on the same problem.      This semester I have begun forcing myself to stop doing homework at a certain time every night, and start doing something enjoyable. I've struggled with balancing school and free time in the past, and tend to dedicate significantly more time than I need to doing school work.       My career goals have evolved slightly since starting college. I got into the Computer Science (cybersecurity) program at Glendale Community College, and my major is still very similar. De...

 Hello! This blog post is a little tough because I'm not sure exactly what to write. I suppose I should start out by mentioning that I've had a kind of rough 2 weeks academically. I got extremely overwhelmed with the amount of work in my classes. Despite putting almost 100% focus on a single class to complete an assignment, I did not finish and ended up failing the assignment. Despite trying to study as much as I could for the midterm in that same class, I did poorly on the exam. I'm not quite at the point of no return in the class, but it is at the point where continuing is likely not worth the risk.  After reading "Daring Greatly" I always catch myself saying what Dr. Brown wrote in her book: "What is shame? Shame is putting in as much effort and time as I think I can muster and still failing..." However, giving up isn't an option for me so despite the shame I feel about likely having to withdraw, I will try the class again, and take it until I pas...

My identity has definitely influenced my educational journey and mindset. I definitely had more privilege growing up as a white woman, with 2 parents who were college graduates, and a father in STEM. Other than being a woman, the odds were definitely not stacked against me. However, I did grow up struggling badly in math, and I always told myself I would never be in a career that required math. Even 10 years ago, I never would have expected to be pursuing a career in computer science.  My parents have always been encouraging of me going into a STEM career, but I actually always thought I would go into biology (which does have a strong female presence). They never really suggested careers I should go into, but that I should do whatever would make me successful. My dad especially sees college as a must. I mentioned that I had a parent in STEM, and that parent would be my dad. He's been a computer programmer (now called a software engineer) since the 80's. In addition to him, I ha...

It was really interesting reading these articles and seeing the video. I actually saw the video with Carol Dweck last semester, and it really stuck with me. I've used her examples in discussions and debates about the school system and the difference it makes to rewards kids for the process they used to solve a problem, rather than the result. I feel like I mostly have a growth mindset. I've mentioned this many times in short essays and discussion board posts; I grew up struggling terribly in math. I was always a C and D student, and I thought "I'm just not good at it. There's nothing I can do." Even less than 10 years ago, I always said to myself "I can't go into a field that requires lots of math. I wouldn't make it. I'm just not good at it, and I hate it." However, five years ago I decided I wanted to go into cyber security. I don't know what changed in me, but I decided "I might struggle in math, but I can figure it out."...

  Problem solving Careers in computing and IT all involve strong problem solving skills. As a former Computer Science, and current Applied computing major, I have been in several high level math classes and coding classes that have helped me to think analytically, and break a problem down step by step in order to solve it.  When I get stuck on a problem, I start out by figuring out what parts I know how to do, and what parts I am not sure about. At first I try to solve the problem by myself, then look through notes, then the text book, and then the internet. This will help me to solve problems on my own, Communication College has taught me a lot about how to properly work in a group and deal with inevitable conflicts. This semester in my coding class we were told to work in groups. My 2nd teammate ended up being significantly better at coding than myself and our 3 rd teammate, and this became a problem because he did the bulk of the work with our first 2 assignments. On top...

 This is a tough question for me, because lately I've been jumping around between career ideas.  My major is Applied Computing with a concentration in cybersecurity. I would like to work in cybersecurity, but with Applied Computing being so broad, I'll be qualified for all kinds of computing paths such as machine learning, software engineering, and (as I recently found out from a job ad) even some bioinformatics positions. I have the most interest in machine learning, bioinformatics, and cybersecurity. If I'm being honest, I don't necessarily have the have the cybersecurity concentration because I for sure want to go into cyber security. I just want to give myself more options since the cybersecurity field is extremely desperate for workers right now. If I end up with a job in cybersecurity after school, then that's great. And if not, I'm also ok with that.  A company that I would specifically like to work for one day is Microsoft, however, I couldn't say wh...