Confidence Through Code
During the fall of my sophomore year I took Introduction to Programming. That fall I had an incredibly difficult academic schedule, four of my classes were exam based and I was in a biology lab. Programming did not come easily to me, early on I struggled understanding Python’s syntax. This later impacted my ability to start my codes correctly, once I’d see the correct version I would understand how it made sense, but I seemingly could not get there on my own. My grade on the first exam was the worst grade I’d ever received in my entire academic career. For the last month and a half of the semester I worked tirelessly to improve my programming skills. I got a peer tutor and went to every TA session I could. By the time the second exam came around I was determined to redeem myself. Even with all the time I put in, I got a B+, which did not bump my grade up as much as I hoped.
My last opportunity to improve my grade was the final project, which required you to code a game entirely by yourself. I decided to make a Beatles themed hang man game. Since I needed an A, I had to make my game incredibly intricate. I added different levels (easy, medium, and hard), I made it so when you lose an image of a guitar pops up on the man, and I made it so when you guess the song correctly the code takes you to youtube and plays the song. It was not easy by any means, I worked on it from Thanksgiving through the rest of the semester. But, I did receive an A on my project and ended with a grade that I was happy with. While it was rewarding that I got my grade up, my final grade is not what I take away from this experience. What I’ll remember most and carry with me is my determination, my willingness to be uncomfortable: getting a tutor, frequently meeting with my professor, dedicating much of my free time coding. Even though I had to work hard to succeed in the course, I leaned into the struggle. This experience had such a positive and lasting impact on me that I decided to take another programming class fall semester of my junior year, Bioinformatics Programming.
