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ICS Student Spotlight
This week's student spotlight is Jake Imanaka. Jake is one of our BaM ICS students and is currently a senior undergraduate computer science major in the security science track, and a first-year computer science graduate student. Please read below to see what Jake has to share.
Why did you choose to pursue a Bachelor's and Master's degree via Bachelor's & Master's (BaM) Pathway?
Unlike why most people would decide to participate in the BaM program (to get ahead in graduate school), my reason is a bit unique. The BaM program was suggested to me by a mentor to extend my undergraduate studies by one semester to do a UROP project before I enter grad school. Usually, taking an extra semester for my undergraduate degree would mean I would be one semester behind in graduate school; however, by allowing me to take one semester’s worth of graduate credit as an undergrad, the BaM program allowed me to avoid delaying my graduate studies.
What are your plans for after graduation? career aspirations?
After graduation, I plan to get a cybersecurity job with the federal government. As an SFS scholarship recipient, I am actually obligated to work for the government for three years, so I am a bit limited in my after-graduation plans. Hopefully, I can work for an agency in Hawaii so I can stay on island for the foreseeable future.
What advice would you give to underclassmen and/or peers? What advice would you give to students considering the BaM program?
If anyone else is considering the BaM program, my advice would be to make sure you familiarize yourself with the graduate school requirements, graduate school application deadlines, and the different computer science BaM tracks. Graduate credit requirements function differently than undergraduate credit requirements and it’s important to understand this difference before registration to create an effective plan. Also, in general, it would be best to talk to your undergraduate and graduate advisors before making a final decision.
What are some challenges you faced in your academic or professional career? How were you able to overcome them?
My biggest challenge in academics is definitely imposter syndrome. When applying for jobs, applying for internships, or registering for classes, I always feel I’m not as advanced or as knowledgeable as my peers despite generally taking the same classes or having the same experience. Many people feel this way about themselves and it’s definitely something I’ve been working on for a long time. I honestly haven’t overcome this problem, but it gets better over time as I develop confidence in myself as a student and a computer scientist.
Best college memory so far.
With Covid disrupting life for the past two years, I can’t really think of anything exciting that happened during that time, and my good memories from my freshman and sophomore years seem like they happened so long ago. However, looking back, I think I appreciate the time just hanging out with my friends whether it be studying for tests we think we’ll all fail, or randomly meeting up at McDonald’s at 5 am to see the sunrise. At the time, I didn’t think these moments were anything special, but after doing nothing for two years, they’ve become great memories.
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