I became interested in computer science when an alumnus of North Carolina State University came to my school and informed the honor seventh grade students about the shortage of minorities in the computer science and engineering fields. I have felt compelled since then to make it a goal to become a computer scientist. I have also been working to the best of my ability in completing this goal since that day.

                I plan on obtaining my Master's degree in computer science following my four-year Bachelor's degree. I also plan to graduate with a minor in mathematics. Working through the Center of Excellence in Remote Sensing Education and Research(CERSER) program, hopefully, this goal will become true soon in my future. Under the direction of Dr. Linda Hayden through CERSER, I have participated in training and research opportunities. The training was helpful in broadening my horizon about computers and other related topics. Mrs. Kiesha Wilkins led several training classes associated with satellite imagery, in the Fall of 2007. We used satellite images online to determine the differences between grass, trees, buildings and roads. Mr. Je'aime Powell led training classes about Linux and Unix in the Fall of 2008. We created word documents and learned how to operate on different Linux platforms. I was also a student teacher in the Macintosh OS X training. Students were taught the components of the iMac computers, and help them find other information about the system components. In the Summer of 2008 Darlette Meekins led training classes in Geographical Information Systems and Global Positioning Systems. We used the Arc Map and Arc Catalog to model different scenes according to a worksheet. I have also been in several training activities under Mr. Jeffery Wood in digital camera training. The training consisted of taking perfect pictures according to different sunlight conditions, heights, camera settings and angles.

                 As a senior, I have had ample opportunities engaging research. In the Spring semester of 2008, I was given the chance to present my research at the University of New Hampshire. My team member and I presented a poster on the Polycom PVX software and Polycom 8000VSX teleconferencing systems. This was in support of the main polar grid project's goal to travel to Greenland and collect data. I have also been given the opportunity to be involved on the Remote Sensing team this past Summer in the Undergraduate Research Experience internship. We modeled beach erosion using video imaging supported by prior research from the Field Research Facility in Duck, North Carolina. Entering my second semester sophomore year I was a member of the Polar Grid team. My team and I developed our own 64-node test cluster from the data collected on a recent trip to Greenland.

          In the Summer of 2009 I was an undergratuate researcher for the Center for the Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets (CReSIS) at the University of Kansas, in Lawerence, Kansas. The primary goal of this research was to automate the process of ice sheet thickness estimation. Previously this process took around forty-five minutes per file. Now after the development of the edge-based and active-contour programs, from my team's research, it takes approximately 1 to 2 1/2 minutes per file. This enormous amount of saved time can now be allotted to different more important task. This CReSIS internship was definitely the most fulfilling internship research experience I have completed thus far.

          This past Summer of 2010 I had the opportunity to participate in the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Research and Discover Program. This program was a two-part internship. The first part was completing a summer at the University of New Hampshire. During the Summer of 2011 I will be interning at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. This program was very interesting in the aspect of working with Dr. Mark Fahnestock who is one of the top glaciologist in the United States. The purpose of my summer work was to investigate the ice flow and ice velocity changes in two Greenland outlet glaciers. The changes in the ice velocities were investigated using a program written in MATLAB that tracked the most prevalent features in the ice. Nunatakavsaup Sermia(NKS) was the northernmost glacier and was the source for the highest ice velocities through the years of 2002 and 2005. This change was primarily due to a large ice front retreat. In return this directly affected the ice velocities throughout the years investigated. Through the years of 2002 to 2005 there was an increase in velocity of this glacier by 5 meters per year, which is approximately 1,875 meters per year. Kangiata Nunata Sermia(KNS) showed a slight variation in velocity but this change was not a significant amount throughout the years that the data was available. I look forward to participating in many more prosperous opportunities, which will further develop my education.