My name is Jean L. Bevins, a sophomore at Elizabeth City State University (ECSU), located in North Carolina. I am a proud native of Philadelphia, PA. As a child, I have always known that computers would be a contributing factor in my future success and education. My aspirations to further expand my knowledge and understanding of computers led me to engage in higher learning. Now, as a student at a higher institution, I am majoring in the field of Computer Science with a minor in aviation.

While enrolled at ECSU, I have partaken in numerous opportunities to gain experiences and skills relevant to my field of study, such as undergraduate research, and attending conferences. Since September 2nd of 2008, I have been an active member of the Center of Excellence in Remote Sensing Education and Research (CERSER) scholarship program. Since joining CERSER, I have learned how to use Linux, Ubuntu, Mac OS X, as well as programs such as Dreamweaver and Adobe Photoshop. I have also been introduced to that of Ice sheets (in regards to global warming), in addition to Adaptive phased-array radars by attending Distinguished lectures and telecom conferences. My expectations of CERSER is that I become adept in researching, improving my understanding of computers, and gaining experiences that will prepare me for graduate school.

In my freshman year, I joined several others, as a member on CERSER’s Undergraduate Research Multimedia Team (MMT) 2008-2009. The principal focal point of the MMT research project was to study the implementation of Web 2.0 technologies to sustain scientific research and supply educational resources. For instance, I had the opportunity to further explore four open source software packages, which we evaluated, installed, and documented as models for future installations. These software packages consisted of Joomla, WordPress, Drupal, and MediaWiki.

This past summer of 2009, I was granted the opportunity to travel to Bloomington Indiana, for the Science Technology Engineering and Math scholars (STEM) program at Indiana University, located in Bloomington, Indiana. My research there was to create a social networking application for PolarGrid, by applying Facebook Application Programming Interface (API), and filters for PolarGrid Ice Sheet Data. The research project also provided knowledge into learning the usage of web technologies, such as XML, PHP, MySQL, and Apache.

I have attended several conferences since my journey through college began. One conference I attended was the Black Engineer of the Year Awards (BEYA) Conference, which took place in Baltimore, Maryland. There, I was granted the chance to explore professional workshops, enjoy career fairs, as well as network with people in my related field. Another Conference I attended was the Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP) Conference at the University of Michigan. At this conference I, along with peers from the STEM Scholars Internship, participated in this conference by presenting a poster presentation of our research. The SROP Conference also offered seminars, which focused on graduate school and life beyond it.

After completing my bachelor’s degree, it is my desire to continue my study. I believe it is in my best interest to strive for higher education and instruct myself as much as possible.