I first became interested in the field of computer science when I was in high school. I was always interested in the way computer technicians fixed our school computers. I have always loved the idea of taking down a computer and putting it back together and wanted to one day be able to fix my own computer.

In an effort to achieve my dream, I enrolled at Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU) in Spring 2007 as a freshman majoring in computer science. As a computer science major, I was introduced into the world of computer science. The teachers at MVSU introduced me to object-oriented programming (Alice), which was fun. I also learned to write programs in the C++ language.

I have acquired a 3.4 GPA during my two years at MVSU and studied to the best of my ability. I have also had to work very hard to keep my GPA up while still involved in other extracurricular activities. I want to one day have both a Certfied Public Accountant (CPA) and a Ph.D. in a commputer-related field. I am in the United States Army Reserve, where I work as a Human Resource Specialist in Greenwood, Mississippi.

Currently, I am participating in Undergraduate Research Experience 2008 program at Elizabeth City State University. My research seeks to answer the question "why the climate has changed so drastically?" My research mentor is Dr. Malcolm LeCompte, and our team is investigating whether comet collisions caused drastic changes in the past. We are also conducting research on what happened to the Clovis people. I am excited about the research because we get to collect soil samples from the North Carolina bays to examine, process, and analyze. We also used the Ground Penetrating RADAR (GPR) machine to analyze the layers on the subsurface of the ground at Kimbel Bay in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

I attended the 2008 International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS) while in the Undergraduate Research Experience (URE) Program. The theme of the 2008 IGARSS conference was "The Next Generation" to signify that the conference is focused more on the outreach programs. During the conference, I attended poster sessions, tutorials, and meetings. The conference focused on the research activities of well-known scientists in the field of remote sensing.

After college I plan to go to graduate school outside of Mississippi. My goal is to blend computer science with other mathematics and science fields that we use everyday. My long-term goal is to try to ensure that more women get into the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields to increase the number of women getting degrees. I hope to take my career abroad and work with other computer scientists.

Every year the tuition increases as education becomes more and more expensive. I hope to give people who don't have the opportunities that I have a chance to succeed in their studies. Education is a very powerful tool that everyone should possess. It is very important to get an education to further your career. I hope that everyone in other countries gets the same opportunities as I do. I would like to see more minorities getting masters and Ph.D. degrees in the STEM fields and have the opportunity to gain the knowledge that I have.