CS373 Spring 2021: Tristan Blake

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Laredo, Texas.

What was your favorite extracurricular activity in high school?

I enjoyed participating in my high school’s robotics team. I also liked doing a fair bit of competitive programming and some UIL competitions.

Why did you come to UT?

UT is a top notch university, and it has one of the best CS programs in the nation. It was a dream of mine to come here and I have enjoyed every moment since.

Why are you majoring in CS?

I really enjoyed learning about CS topics in high school, and at some point I knew I wanted to learn more.

Why are you in this class?

I have a goal in becoming a software engineer in the future, and I believe this class will be extremely beneficial to me in the future. I am also really interested in learning topics that I am not so knowledgeable in, such as front end development.

What are your expectations of this class?

I expect to leave this class with a solid understanding of what software engineering is about and to learn several software engineering tools that I will be able to use in the future.

How much Javascript/Python/SQL/Web programming do you already know?

I know basic Javascript and Python. Though I know Javascript has become very flexible and you can do some pretty insane things with the language that I am not so familiar with. I have dabbled around with basic SQL queries before and I am familiar with very basic web programming.

How did you like the two lectures?

The two lectures were very informative and I really got a good feel of how this class will be like.

How did you feel about the cold calling?

I was a bit anxious about the cold calling at first, but as Professor Downing started doing it, it seemed to be a very casual conversation that supplemented the lecture well. I am not so worried about cold calling anymore.