Hey everybody!
Hope winter break was as enjoyable for you as it was for me. After going home for a bit then travelling to Honduras for Engineers Without Borders, I have returned to USC excited as ever for what the upcoming semester holds. Here’s what my upcoming spring semester of classes has in store for me:
Spring 2013 Yo
I’m extremely excited for this semester of classes because I’m getting the chance to take several classes outside of Mechanical Engineering. In fact, outside of Mechoptronics Part Deux and Heat Transfer, the rest of my classes are outside of the AME department.
What’s great about the flexibility is that now I get to take classes that are extremely relevant to my professional goals and other interests. I’m currently taking 2 electrical engineering courses, EE-355 and EE-443, both of which will also count towards my degree!! EE-355 is a computer programming class where I’m going to get some great teaching from Prof. Redekopp regarding C++ and Python, which is going to help me differentiate myself when it comes to job applications and what not.
Learning some C++ and the basics of arrays
EE-443 is an Intro to Power Systems class taught by Prof. Castro, who in addition to teaching also works in industry for the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power. Because I’m currently doing research in Smart Grids and am interested in energy infrastructure, this class is really going to allow me to explore my interests. Additionally, I’m also taking a 2 unit conversational Spanish class to help me brush up on my Spanish before travelling with EWB later this year.
As if that doesn’t sound great enough, I’m also taking the special Viterbi iPodia class this semester with several other VSA’s (check out Steve’s, Vlad’s, Kat’s, Lyssa’s, Gavin’s, and Cassandra’s blogs and Twitters for updates!). iPodia is an incredibly unique class offered by USC where over the course of the semester 38 students at USC will be attending class and working in teams with students from KAIST University of Korea, Peking University of China, and Technion University of Isreal via USC’s #1 ranked Distance Education Network as well as Skype and other online tools. The class focuses on the principals of Global Innovation and is really seeking to examine they way innovation and education works from a novel perspective. At the end of the semester we will be travelling to South Korea for 2 weeks to meet with the other students and present our final projects. Be sure to come back and check out the blog/Twitter for further updates!!
Now if classes weren’t enough to be excited about, outside of that I’m also looking forward to the upcoming rugby season. With games against great components and potentially a team trip to Las Vegas to watch the annual, there’s a lot to look forward to! Check out the new website for more info!
Try time
Lastly, this April I will be heading to Coachella Weekend One for the first time ever!!! Words cannot express how pumped I am for this festival and with the lineup recently released, my anticipation is only growing:
Coachella 2013 lineup woooooo!
That’s all for now. Hasta luego.
