I am a student at the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD) at the Universities at Shady (USG) campus majoring in Information Science. Prior to USG, I attended Montgomery College, where I earned my Associate of Arts in Information Systems. The first time I heard about USG was in 2020, and my original plan was to look into the U.S Air Force upon completion of my Associates. However, as time went on, the process of me joining was prolonged and I started searching for potential schools that I would be interested in with majors related to what I had been studying at MC. As I was looking for schools, I just so happened to receive an email from the Assistant Program Director about the UMD Information Science program at USG still accepting applications. After reading the email, I decided to reach out and learn more about what the field of Information Science had to offer and the jobs it would lead to. I was pleased to find that the major aligned well with my goals and interests.
After doing my research on the major and USG, I chose the USG campus because of the short commute, the small class sizes and the sense of community and collaboration amongst the students compared to the main campus. The College Park campus is much larger and with so many students in a given class, I thought it may have limited my ability to have one-on-one time with teachers and peers. I also chose my program at USG because of the diversity of the courses offered, which would allow me to be a “jack of all trades.” Acquiring knowledge from a variety of classes would give me the basic knowledge to excel in whatever career I may pursue. Since starting the program in the Fall of 2022, I've taken some time to figure out my interests, career-wise, with options varying from business analytics, consulting and much more. I believe that with a firm educational background in Information Science, I will really be able to apply the knowledge I’ve gained in this program to a variety of careers in the future.
I’ve always said, “I didn’t pick USG – USG picked me”. With many different clubs on campus, I chose to be involved in the Information Science Student Association (ISSA). Being a junior and soon to be treasurer of the club, I would be responsible for ensuring that the funds/catering for events are established. Attending meetings and event planning would be some of the responsibilities to my charge. As an Information Science major, there are also a lot of team projects that we embark on. I am also working on an interesting research project regarding facial recognition, researching all scopes of the technology and how rapidly it is taking over in our everyday life.
After the completion of my coursework, I expect to receive my Bachelor’s of Science in Information Science in the Spring of 2024. Upon graduation, I envision myself working as a Business/Data Analyst, or as a Consultant at a Fortune 500 company. I also plan on enrolling into a graduate program and starting a business in my home country, D.R Congo, helping children who are less fortunate to be literate in technology uses.