WHERE DID YOU GROW UP? WHAT WAS YOUR PATH TO CAL? I was born and raised in San Jose, and have lived in the same house for about 20 years. Knowing every nook and cranny definitely comes in handy when you're as clumsy as me. =] I attended Lynbrook High School and during that time, I volunteered at Lucille Packard Children's Hospital (yes, in Stanford ><) where I met a coordinator who greatly influenced me. She was an alumni from Cal and had endless Berkeley Pride. Her enthusiasm rubbed off on me and when it came time to choose schools, I chose Cal. =] HOW MUCH PROGRAMMING HAVE YOU DONE (& WHAT LANGUAGES)? Classes teaching Java were offered at my high school, and since I wanted a full schedule during my junior and senior years, I decided to take computer programming class instead of accounting, cooking, or driver's ed. I enjoyed programming, but the classes didn't go into too much detail (not like cs61b) and I didn't understand programming thoroughly. Overall, computer science just seemed like a horribly confusing subject. In my freshman year at Cal, my parents challenged me to take just one more CS course, and the course I took was CS3. The class completely wow-ed me, and I immediately decided I wanted to be a Computer Science major. As of now, I have learned Java, Scheme, and C. WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES? I enjoy listening to any kind of music, and my favorite type is live performance. That's why you'll often see me youtubing artists only for their live performances. I believe seeing them sing helps bring out emotions of a song you wouldn't be able to notice otherwise. While I'm reading or studying for exams though, I tend to listen to flute pieces. I also enjoy creating music, but I'll talk about that later. I also like reading science fiction and fantasy novels, just so that I can sometimes take a vacation to another world. =] And for now, I also enjoy kickboxing, just for the tension relieving aspect of it. I tend to switch between different sports every other year though, so next year there'll be a different one. WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR TALENTS & SKILLS? Back to 'I enjoy creating music'. =] Music has always been a huge part of my life, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I started keyboarding/piano when I was around 3 (I used the keyboard because I couldn't reach the piano very well). I continued to play until I graduated high school. Sadly, it's a bit hard to move a piano here to Berkeley, but every now and then when I go back home I'll try playing a few tunes (though I have forgotten a lot). In middle school I played the clarinet and the flute in band. I chose flute after awhile because it was shiny and pretty =] Haha, I was a materialistic little 7th grader back thencbut after awhile I ended up enjoying flute for its soothing sound. In high school, I joined the marching band as a flautist and concert band as a clarinetist. Last school year, I joined the UC Women's Chorale, because I enjoyed singing for fun and wanted to see what it would be like in an ensemble. It was a great experience and definitely helps when you have a sore throat =] HAVE YOU DONE ANYTHING REMARKABLE? HAS ANYTHING MEMORABLE HAPPENED TO YOU? Perhaps not extremely remarkable, but I went to Xi Men Ding in Taiwan on New Year's Eve and did not get lost =] It's a huge teen hangout place with a bunch of stores and stalls, and every night it's packed. On New Year's Eve, needless to say, it's shoulder to shoulder (major squishing), and I'm glad I made it out without being trampled. Something memorable would probably be breaking my pinky toe right after taking the SATs when I was having fun walking backwards (again, I'm a bit clumsy...), and the weekend before the Junior Prom. I ended up going to prom with a cast and crutches. It was still a lot of fun though. WHAT COMMITMENTS WILL BE CONSUMING YOUR CYCLES THIS SEMESTER? I'm a third year and I'm doubling in Computer Science and Economics. This semester I'll be taking CS61B, CNM190, CS194-7, Econ140, and Chinese10BX. I am also an officer of UPE, Computer Science Honors Society. Besides reading for this class, I also work as a consultant at the Haas Computing Center.