This past summer got off to a great start.  About a week after school ended, I was right back in the classroom taking CSCI 170, a discrete math class, and CSCI 104, a programming class in C/C++ about data structures.  Taking summer classes was such a great decision! I was able to take these classes with very small class sizes, lots of personal attention from professors, and more than enough free time to give to schoolwork.  Our semester project was basically to make a model of a microblogging website like Twitter!

My model of Twitter mid-development.

My model of Twitter mid-development.

I also took a vacation with my family this summer to Costa Rica! The weather was amazing, and we spent a relaxing week swimming, surfing, and hanging out in the rain forest.  The view from our house also made working on my CSCI 104 homework a little more bearable:

Working on CSCI 104 Programming and enjoying the view from my house in Costa Rica!

Working on CSCI 104 Programming and enjoying the view from my house in Costa Rica!

We were also in Costa Rica during the Stanley Cup Finals! We found some really cool restaurants nearby that got satellite feeds of all the games, so I was still able to watch my Kings win their second Stanley Cup in 3 years! The locals (who cared way more about the World Cup) were probably a little confused by all our yelling and excitement, but I think they respected my commitment to wearing my hockey sweater in all the heat and humidity.

For the rest of the summer, I kept going to school and hanging out with these cuties at home:

One of my dogs!

One of my dogs!

Me with my other dog!

Me with my other dog!

 

Even though I had an exciting and productive summer, I’ve been getting pretty restless these last few weeks.  I’m just too excited to have another fall semester at USC.  Finally, the first day of class is in two days. I’ll be updating on all the goings-on this semester soon!

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ellen-2017

ellen-2017

Computer Science and Physics, Class of 2017, Learn more on her profile here!