I am a sophomore majoring in Computer Science at Elizabeth City State University, located in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. My expected graduation date is May 2011. Beginning in high school, I became interested in computers, technologies, and programming languages, never realizing those interests would actually further my career in Computer Science. My main goal is to become successful in learning even more about Computer Science so I can further my education to get my masters degree. In doing so, I would also like to gain useful knowledge while being a part of the Center of Excellence for Remote Sensing Education and Research (CERSER) program. CERSER has a lot to offer, including assistance on obtaining internships, networking, and building my undergraduate research experience toward higher education. I have performed Undergraduate Research, attended conferences, and networked with many other people, in order to prepare for graduate school. During my freshman year, I attended conferences where professionals presented their research, and gave useful information on how to be successful. The first conference I attended was the National Infinite Possibilities Conference( NIPC) located at North Carolina State University. The 2007 Infinite Possibilities Conference was held to address the discrimination against women in mathematics, create a spirit of sisterhood, and a make a strong connection with those who attended. It also provided information and resources that benefited the participants to succeed in their careers. The second conference I attended was the National Science Foundation (NSF) Science Technology Centers site visit for the Center of Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets (CReSIS) located at The University of Kansas. The purpose of the NSF site visit was to review how CReSIS operates as a center and how the center improved to meeting its objectives. The third conference I attended was the 2008 IEEE International Geoscience & Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS) conference located in Boston, Massachusetts. The pupose of the conference was to allow world-class scientists, engineers and educators to engage in the fields of geoscience and remote sensing, and present their latest activities. Over fifteen hundred participants from all over the world participated in a week full of technical sessions, tutorials, exhibits and social activities. The theme of the conference was entitled "The Next Generation" which defined the focus of the 2008 Symposium on outreach.

While being a part of CERSER, I have also completed research during the 2007 academic school year. My freshman year I was on the Oceanography Research Team. Our research was entitled, “A Multiple Linear Regression of pCO2 against Sea SurfaceTemperatures, Salinity, and Chlorophyll α at Station BATS and its Potential for Estimate pCO2 from Satellite Data.” We obtained field data of alkalinity, dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), temperature, salinity, and chlorophyll α determined at BATS station in the last two decades; calculated pCO2 from alkalinity and DIC; applied the correlation method to test the applicability of the method in the central Atlantic Ocean and found the linear regression to see how accurate the data was.

Currently, I am performing work in support of a larger NASA IPY project to determine the Antarctic’s mass balance (i.e., the net gain or loss of ice from the Southern continent.) The purpose is to determine the ‘Grounding Line’ along a specific stretch of Antarctic coastline, using NASA supplied computer codes written in Interactive Data Language (IDL) 4th generation programming language. It is installed and run in the windows environment. IDL compiling and execution is transparent to the user by clicking on the file name of the desired process, described in the instructions manual and then the code is executed.

I have also had the opportunity to create my professional webpage, take classes in programs such Geographic Information Systems, and Linux, and gain knowledge throughout the year, which helped prepare me for my summer 2008 undergraduate research.

While performing research during my undergraduate research experience, my research was entitled " The Younger Dryas Impact Study". Here, we studied the events precipitating the dramatic, millennial long climatic cooling known as the Younger Dryas, that occurred approximately 13,000 years ago. During my research, I have had the opportunity to do some hands-on learning at the Kimball Bay in Fayetteville, North Carolina. There, we focused on using the Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), and learned how to Core. Learning these techniques has given me an idea of what scientist like Allen West and his team has done while investigating what actually caused the impact some 12,900 years ago. It will also help me, as I continue to do research on this topic during the Fall 2008 semester.

I am proud to say that I am the first child in my family ever to go to college. Being a first generation college student may appear easy, but achieving this status requires dedication, assertiveness, and continuously making decisions that will be beneficial to my future.It has also made me strive for perfection in my scholastic career, as well as cease all opportunities that are made possible by perusing a higher education.Deciding to do it has made a difference, but I anticipate even greater changes after I graduate, and through this program, I know I will soar to greater heights. Although my studies at Elizabeth City State University take considerable time, effort, and dedication, I know that this knowledge is essential to helping me along my way.