CS373 Spring 2021: Blake Romero

On this blog, I will be documenting my progress throughout the semester as I take Software Engineering! Here is a little bit about myself:

Where did you grow up?

I was born and raised in Houston, Texas. After 6th grade, I moved to Katy, Texas, which is about an hour away from Houston, and I lived there until I graduated high school.

What was your favorite extracurricular activity in high school?

In high school, I spent most of my time on the programming team of our robots organization. Participating in robotics was the most enjoyable experience I had in high school, and it helped show me how versatile and interesting CS could be.

Why did you come to UT?

I first set my sights on UT partially because most of my family has graduated from there, and my interest only grew from there due to its highly praised CS program. I have really enjoyed my time here so far, and I wouldn’t want to be studying anywhere else.

Why are you majoring in CS?

I first became interested in CS during freshman year of high school. After taking a couple of classes on it, I realized that CS was what I wanted to pursue in life.

Why are you in this class?

I decided to take this class because I wanted learn more about Software Engineering, and I heard that Prof. Downing’s classes are some of the best in the department.

What are your expectations of this class?

While taking this class, I expect to gain some basic understanding about how Software Engineering functions in the real world, and I hope to gain some knowledge that I will be able to apply to internships and jobs in the future.

How much Javascript/Python/SQL/Web programming do you already know?

I have a little bit of experience with JS/SQL/Web programming from making a website with a couple of friends in high school. Python, however, is almost completely foreign to me.

How did you like the two lectures?

The two lectures we have had so far were pretty enjoyable. They were effective at introducing the structure of the course, and they got me excited for what we will be doing in the future.

How did you feel about the cold calling?

When I first heard about the cold calling, I was pretty nervous about it since I tend not to answer many questions in class unless I think I know the answer. After the first couple of people got called on, however, my worries have faded since it seems to be more of an interactive learning experience.