The Computer Science department is seeking fun college students who aren’t afraid to walk on the wild-side by mixing together, that’s right, math and science. Anyone with an interest in staying up all night just snuggling and messing around on Python, or creating intricate algorithms to easily find anagrams to talk about over a romantic candle-light dinner should give comp sci a try. With group work that can possibly border on the risqué, computer science will allow you to have some hands-on action with other people in the field which will prove useful once you enter the real world and get that dreamy Google job. Computer science is one big party and you are invited.
But in all seriousness, the Computer Science department here at Wheaton College has started a PR portion of the Artificial Intelligence course offered by Mark LeBlanc, Meneeley Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science, in order to “promote the discipline of computer science […] and the assignment.” LeBlanc hopes to prepare students for the real world by having the class simulate a small tech based start-up company. Students, along with their usual programming, have created campaigns that incorporate the main theme of the assignment and use it to spread the word about the department, the first of which deals with anagrams. The students in “Artificial Intelligence” have already come up with a plethora of ideas ranging from twitter bots that will spit out anagrams of words sent to them by Wheaton students to posting anagrams of professors’ names on their doors to Wire articles promoting the discipline of computer science. Now this article is getting sort of meta, eh? Rather than just presenting the final output of a student’s programming assignment, LeBlanc is getting students to push further and show a much more approachable finished product to the general public in hopes of stirring up some awareness and interest for the department.
So why should you care, assuming you are not already a Computer Science minor or major and have never considered taking one of their courses? It is evident that the study is gaining more prominence in the modern workplace, and it will be difficult to find a job that doesn’t require some type of interaction with a computer platform, be it Python, C++, or Perl; there are literally dozens of different coding languages. Higher paying jobs will likely require some level of computer competency, so what better way to become competent than by taking some classes with the hippest Comp Sci department in Norton, Massachusetts? We’ve even got a 3D printer!
Not only does LeBlanc’s interactive PR course bring a number of fun activities or additions for students, but it also promotes an involved campus community and teaches the students that there is more to programming than grades, and that computer science is a practical trade that anyone at any level can try their hand at. From beginners to experts in the field, anyone could take a comp sci course here at Wheaton and learn something new. The skills that students will learn in the classroom are truly applicable in the work place, and at that point students will not only be completing their work to complete major or minor requirements but to give back to society and prepare themselves for the large and scary real world.
So if you like pina coladas and getting caught in the rain, you should contact Rupert Holmes. But if you are interested in a practical course that will help you find success in life, contact the Computer Science department.