By Loretta Tuider (HSLA ‘20, Columbia University ‘24)

This summer, I’ve been accepted into Columbia Engineering’s Education Experience for Undergraduates (EEU) program, which means I get to spend six weeks working alongside a professor teaching computer science to high school students. I’m so excited about the opportunity to mentor other students, and learn more about my own interests in the process. 

In high school at Success Academy, I was in the honors STEM program, so I took mechanical and electrical engineering. Through those classes I started to learn what engineering was all about — and I loved it. I’ve always been geared toward STEM, but I especially liked how engineering involves math and even more teamwork and collaboration than other STEM fields. When I was applying to college, I focused on getting into an engineering school, and was so excited by my acceptance into Columbia’s. When I started at Columbia I felt pretty prepared; in the fall I took Intro to Electrical Engineering, and it was so nice to have a background in the subject from SA.

When I learned about the EEU program, I knew I wanted to do something that connected to my coursework over the summer, rather than a regular job. I thought “Why not?” and decided to apply. Plus, I did a program called Columbia Edge through SA HSLA, which gives high schoolers the chance to take courses at Columbia, so I felt qualified and knew I’d been in the shoes of the students I’d be mentoring.

Getting accepted into the EEU program is one of my first big achievements in college, and I think it will open additional doors for me. I’m applying to be a teacher’s assistant in computer science in the fall, and the experience I gain from the EEU will be really valuable. My TAs have been so helpful, especially in computer science classes. I want to be able to help other students think critically through their work like my TAs have helped me. I started thinking about becoming a TA as I became more passionate about computer science, and this program will be the perfect preparation.

As for my future, I’m taking it one semester at a time. Based on how this experience goes this summer, I think I want to do an internship with one of the big tech companies. I feel like that’s something I’m already building toward within the scope of my education, and potentially landing that kind of internship would be a great start for a potential job offer.

For any students considering computer science or engineering, my advice would be to form a good relationship with your TAs and don’t procrastinate. You really can’t get away with starting projects last minute, and having someone to talk to or advise you is useful. And the more work you do, the more you get used to it. Computer science in particular is like learning a whole new language, but after a few projects things just started clicking in my head and I get a real sense of accomplishment when I do well on an assignment now. 

Graduates munched on pizza and basked in the spotlight while seniors — whose college acceptances are rolling in — peppered them with questions about life on campus. How long did it take you to adjust to a new routine? What’s the social life like in college? How do you stay healthy mentally? In between sharing personal stories about new jobs — Shane’s doggy daycare gig has been great, even though it means being at work at 5:30am! — and the allure of an active social life — Ananda was just elected to the executive board of her swing club — our college freshmen and sophomores shared some pearls of wisdom that made us proud.

• Hang out with different people! You don’t have to find your best friend, but you do have to find groups who can support you in different ways. There are those who are learning the same class material as you — make studying more fun by getting through it together. Spend weekends with your crazy summer experience friends. Go for runs with those three fun people from your club. 

• Everyone always says it’s important to get involved in college, but make sure you don’t get too involved! One of the best things about college is getting to explore new interests, but it’s also important not to get stressed by doing too much — otherwise you’ll lose focus and just be less healthy. 

• Of course, parties are great — but so is finding your own style when it comes to time management. How much can you go out but still focus in class? How late can you stay up studying and still make it to work on time? This looks different for different people, so don’t just do what your friends do.

While hanging out with old friends was the true highlight of the evening, seniors seemed to appreciate the advice. As current SA senior Jahniya Kilgore said, “My main goal in college is to keep my grades up, so it’s helpful to hear how all these Success kids manage their time and their classes to keep focused.”

The Class of 2024 will be able to put the advice to good use in just a few months. So far, almost half have earned acceptances, some of them to selective schools like Boston University, University of Pennsylvania, SUNY Albany, Tufts University, Temple University, Northwestern, Yale, Cornell, Wake Forest, and University of Chicago.