Virtual Communications Executive

Undergraduate in Bachelor of Engineering, Software

Email: tpham1 AT connect.carleton.ca

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Tips

• Do what you are passionate in. You are wasting time if you hate your program.
• Read a book about how to study. I recommend Study Smarter, Not Harder.
• Write down positive affirmations and read them everyday.
• If you complain about something, do something to change the situation. Be proactive!
• Make someone smile everyday.
• Join clubs, groups, and societies and take up a role with responsiblies. It looks great on resumes and it's fun.

 

About Me

I'm a second year student. I took two years off school and then came to Carleton. I'm orginally from Ottawa. I have no formal training in web programming, though I have dabbled quite a bit in it. The programming lauguange that I'm strongest in is C++, but I've also coded in AS2 and 3, Java, C, and php.

 

Undergraduate Studies

My choice

I wasn't too sure about what to take in university while I was going to highschool, which is why I took time off to explore myself. I usually get asked what I do or did during my non-school years. Most people automatically think that all there is to life is work and school. But no I didn't work. It's true there were days spend on nothing but video games, but I did a lot of presonal development in different areas. I took workshops, CPR, did scrapbooking, read books. And I also spend two months prior to university starting to study on how to study. Which has given me a huge advantage over other students.

So after exploring myself and watching Star Trek, I choose 3 majors in my university application. I got accepted to all my choices, and so I took the major which was hardest to get into. And I'm not regretting it.

Changing engineering streams

I was in biomedical/mech for my first year, but I decided to switch over to software after seeing a biomed professor speak about bioinfomatics. I was highly interested in that specific category of biomedical studies so I went to speak with him privately. He recommended that I switch into software to get more of the programming aspect and then take a masters in bioinformatics. So I switched majors due to 3 reasons:

• the leading professor in bioinformatics at Carleton recommened it
• I'm naturally better at programming then at mechanics, which equates to higher grades
• coop/job placements would be easier to find

 

Women in Science and Engineering

In highschool I took two courses in which I was the only female: computer science, and computer engineering. I never felt weird, and I never worried about what other thought of me, I just took the courses that I do best in. In fact I often felt proud to be the only female.

Why I joined WISE

Finally there are girls in the courses I like! (actually I think there are about 3 other girls in my specify engineering stream *wah*) So why wouldn't I become friends with them?

Why I recommend joining WISE

You get to be my friend ^_^ How cool is that? Hehe. On a serious note, if you have a question and you don't know where to ask, WISE is a great place to voice it. Even if we can't answer it, we can point you in the right direction. WISE has many members who have gone through your program or a very similar program, and most likely the same courses with the same professors, so the women in WISE are wise and can give you advice. =) I'm so punny you want to be my friend now right?

 

Other Interests

My coolest non-academic accomplishment to date is losing 25lbs and getting into shape. I know it sounds like a shallow thing to say, but it's true. Nowadays when someone is talking about losing weight, we get this image in our heads that they want to be stick thin, which is most often not the case. Losing weight is a hard thing to do, and to do it YOU have to want it (not your friends, family or society wanting you to lose weight), you have to change your habits, and you must be dilligent(the hardest part). Plus I never found that winning an award for something I naturally excelled at an accomplishment.