Caroline Hyland
Major & Minor
Majors: Computer Science and Spanish
Minors: Molecular & Cellular Biology and World Literature
Hometown
Phoenix, AZ
How’d you choose your major/minor?
I took a programming course in high school fell in love with computer science. As for Spanish, I had always planned to pursue a Spanish minor since I have taken Spanish since elementary school. However, I finished the minor after my freshman year, and I did not want to stop taking Spanish courses. That led me to add it as another major, which I absolutely love, since it allows me to have variety in my classes and take a combination of STEM and humanities courses. Finally, my minors are just a fun collection of some of my other interests I wanted to pursue in college.
What’s your favorite spot on campus?
My favorite spot on campus is probably the 9th floor atrium in Gould Simpson. It has study tables (and power outlets, which are very important for a CS major who is on her laptop every day :)) that look out over an amazing view of campus. It is always so pretty, and it has the perfect noise level for casual studying and working on assignments. It is always relatively quiet, but there are some conversations, so it is not *too* quiet. Gould Simpson is also the "home building" for the Computer Science department, and the 9th floor is a computer science floor, so I constantly see my friends and classmates when I am there, which always makes me smile.g. The other favorite I can think of is the Bookstore in the Student Union. There's a very conveniently placed Starbucks and there used to be a lot of sitting areas inside too. For my first couple years, I used to go there whenever there was a gap between classes because it was always quiet and coffee adjacent.
What has been the highlight of your college career thus far?Working as an undergraduate teaching assistant and course coordinator in the Computer Science department has probably been the highlight of my college experience. I have met so many other amazing students through the experience, developed better relationships with professors, and gained a greater understanding of the foundational concepts of computer science. I also discovered the depth of my love for teaching in this position, and it has inspired me to work as a professor of computer science in the future.