Meet former fashion designer Grace, who boldly paved a new path for his computer science. Inspired by the role model of mathematician Amalie Emmy Noether and determined to overcome her math anxiety and become a good role model for her daughter, she began to study courses online. It wasn’t easy to balance learning with family responsibilities, she was receiving breast cancer treatment at the same time. She perseveres, and grace is now registered University of London Bachelor of Computer Science Degree. She is excited about all the ways computer science has opened up a whole new world for her. Learn more about her journey, inspiration and purpose as she shares her story below.
As someone from a background in art and design, enrolling for a bachelor’s degree in computer science at the University of London has been a huge leap for me. Also, I am an older student. After spending more than a decade in the workforce, I am taking an undergraduate program. Nevertheless, I am determined to deal with this challenge. I’ve already been familiar with the Coursera platform and I find it easy to navigate, and I appreciate the presentation format and clear deadlines. Given my positive experience, I think it would be easier to achieve the goal with the online degree programs offered by Coursera.
It is also important for me to be a good role model for my children, especially my daughter. I hope she sees her mom working hard and keep working hard. I hope she sees that it’s also hard when learning anything in science, but it’s also beautiful and reachable.
I have been a fashion designer in trade for more than a decade. Art and design are always easy for me, but science is not. I decided it was time to solve the old problems I had with math. I think you can call it math anxiety. I started taking math classes slowly and worked hard to consolidate my knowledge in math. During those years, I had a family to take care of and was receiving breast cancer treatment. It’s hard sometimes, but it’s exciting when you make breakthroughs in solving math problems. I felt very satisfied and empowered when I mastered new and difficult math and programming techniques. I am proud of myself going too far in science. I start at the bottom. If I can do it, anyone can.
One of my favorite role models is the mathematician Amalie Emmy Noether (1882-1935). She has published many papers on David Hilbert’s work on fields, rational functions, invariants, and limited groups. This work has led her to make a breakthrough contribution in the field of abstract algebra. During her scientific career, she has faced numerous rejections, including some faculty members at Gödingen University. Despite all the opponents, she never stopped doing what she liked. I often think to myself: “What an amazing mind she has in an age when she is discouraged or is not allowed to learn in science, and the passion she pursues when women are discouraged. Why can’t I if she has the courage to face these challenges?”
Noether’s story gave me hope and was inspiration for my continued participation in the computer science program. Sometimes we all need inspiration and encouragement:
As I was still in the beginning of computer science research, I wanted to expand my knowledge and improve my skills. So far, I’ve learned how to program a game in JavaScript. I’ve never done any programming before and I really like the course and how to learn. My daughter is learning Scratch, a simple programming language designed for kids and beginners, and based on what I have learned so far, I was able to help her continue to make progress. I love being able to learn with my daughter and seeing both of us grow.
Studying computer science will open up a whole new world for me. I have been a stay-at-home mom to take care of my family for the past few years and I want to return to a career that challenges me and provides a new horizon. I would love to apply my new programming skills to art or design – the animation career is a dream job for me!
Interesting facts about me: I’m from a small village in Rathcormac, Ireland, and my original background is fashion design and art. I have been living in the United States for the past 27 years. I have worked in Dublin, London and New York. I love cooking and applying art style to my food presentations. My favorite hobbies are cooking, photography, and designing and building your own clothes!
This blog has been reposted from the 2021 Coursera article
