Upon graduation in 2009, I wish to become gainfully employed in the computer science industry by learning everything about the computer technology that influences and shapes our world. As computer technology continues to change each and every day, I plan to utilize every educational opportunity to gain the necessary knowledge and training needed to make me a confident, reputable employee in the workforce world after graduating from Elizabeth City State University’s institution of higher learning.

So far, my research experiences have taken place during both the academic school year and the summer session. During the second semester of my freshman year, I was placed on the UNIX team which was mentored by Christopher Edwards. During the spring semester, our team presented our project entitled “The Impact on Students learning open source software to Analyze TCP Traffic.” Our team used a passive network discovery to fingerprint vulnerabilities within Ethernet broadcast frames. During the summer of 2006, I received my first internship at the University of Kansas. Cheniece Arthur and I were on the Robotic Simulation team under the mentoring of Dr. Arvin Agah. The title of our project was entitled, “Robotic Formations.” Our research involved the assimilation and development of robotics that deploy and retrieve seismic sensors in order to prevent global warming.

My second semester, sophomore year research included the redesign of the network based on the University of North Carolina Academic Computing Model. The network team goal for the 2006-2007 research programs is to take a fresh look at the Undergraduate Research Computer Lab network to make fully functional and secure. During the summer, I did another internship at the University of Kansas where I designed and developed a robot that was originally created by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center called the TETwalker. This robot was created in a computer, simulation software program that demonstrated the collection of seismic data of ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland.

Since my freshman year, I have attended numerous major conferences. The first conference I attended was on September 29, 2005 which was hosted by the National Technical Association’s (NTA) National Conference and Technical Career Opportunity Fair. Some of the other conferences I have attended include another National Technical Association’s (NTA) National Conference and Technical Career Opportunity Fair in Chicago, IL on July 29, 2006 where Cheniece Arthur and I received third place for an undergraduate researcher’s award for our summer internship project, the Association of Computer/Information Sciences and Engineering Departments at Minority Institutions (ADMI) Conference and Symposium in Atlanta, GA on February 8, 2007, Research in the Capital Undergraduate Research Symposium for the North Carolina General Assembly in Raleigh, NC on April 17, 2007, and the University of New Hampshire Undergraduate Research Conference Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Symposium in Durham, NH on April 25, 2007. November 10, 2007, I attended the Super Computing Conference 07 in Reno, NV and worked as a student volunteer an entire week.

As I embark on my upcoming future educational endeavors, I look forward to increasing my knowledge in the field of computers and accomplishing one more of my educational goals, a degree in computer science and a minor in Remote Sensing. I would feel honored and will strive to meet all expectations when I graduate from Elizabeth City State University in 2009.