Hey everyone! This week we are all sharing a little bit about some of our favorite campus involvements. Since I’ve already written a little about one of my favorite involvements, the USC Women’s Ice Hockey team (learn more from my previous blog post or Kelly’s from this week), I thought I would talk a little bit about another one of my favorites – the campus chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM).
Basically, ACM is Computer Science’s professional society within Viterbi. That being said, you don’t need to be a Computer Science major to join! ACM is open to everyone, whether you are a Computer Science student, a hardcore hacker, or just someone who wants to a learn a little more about the tech world.
The 2014-15 ACM t-shirt!
Being that it is a professional society, ACM does place a large focus on career preparedness and industry opportunities. Some of the biggest industry events include whiteboard coding workshops, where students can brush up on their interview skills by doing practice problems, as well as a networking night, where ACM brings in industry professionals in the surrounding area to make connections with.
Our fall industry night is off to a great start! #uscacm #networking #viterbi @ViterbiUG pic.twitter.com/sdBkUz3saA
— USC ACM (@uscacm) October 3, 2014
ACM also provides plenty of opportunities to develop your skills! They hold technical workshops from time to time on topics ranging from exposure to Arduino and other simple hardware to fine-tuning C++/Java skills learned in class. There is also a Programming Contest held every year to develop problem solving skills. Some of the biggest events that ACM are involved in are hackathons – weekend long events where students can form groups and simply make something! Sometimes the hackathons have themes, but mostly the purpose is just to have the participants creating. If you’ve never had any hackathon experience, there are plenty of resources offered including technical workshops and team mentors to help get you going!
Check out hack sc pic.twitter.com/rVNsaikc5J
— Hannah Luk (@hannahgluk) November 9, 2014
Last but not least, ACM occasionally puts on social events! This is a huge group where everybody already has something in common, so why not make some friends while you’re at it? Last year, the ACM social event was going to laser tag! To learn more about ACM check out their website.
Have a good week and Beat the Bears!
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