Computer Science 108 : Spring 2009

Nikhil Arun

Redmond, Washington

Class of 2011

Activities:

Defining Movement (Dance Team)

FAC Board

Duke Entrepreneur

Kairos

Wayne Manor

Interests:

I love to play sports, dance, and hang out with friends. I also love being a camp counselor and helping people out in a fun way (being a sports coach, running a dance class). I like Math and Science as well.

Computer Science Autobiography:

I started using a computer as a kid when I was about 5 or 6. My first memories of computers were playing Kid Pix. I have only used PCs and PC laptops. I used a Mac once or twice in the library here at Duke but very few people own Macs where I live. I use computers to check my mail, do my homework, look up dance videos for dance practice, and Facebook on a daily basis. I like Math and Science, and wanted to do an applied version of math and problem solving for my career. None of the types of engineering were that appealing and then I tried Computer Science and liked it. I think a computer scientist tries to solve problems on a daily basis. I believe that sometimes they do that via programming and sometimes do that via design documents and specs. My best programming experience was being “Game Control” on a project in High School where we were making a game called “Hunt the Wumpus”. This was because I could really see the big picture and get a sense of what programming was like in the real world. My least favorite programming project was a dating service I had to make in high school. The whole project was basically writing a bunch of OR and AND statements which was just boring. I want to be a Program Manager at a corporation and I will need a deep knowledge of Computer Science to do that.

Bad Code Smells:

The bad code smell I do the most is not naming my variables appropriately. I am so intent on getting to the meat of the program that I name my variables with one letter thinking I will come back and fix that. I rarely do so.