Major Spotlight Series: Computer Science
In the second installation in our department spotlights, we heard from Izzy Lapidus (Barnard 2024). Izzy talked to us about her experience with CS and her path to designing her own major: Computing, Design, and Pedagogy.
Why did you choose CS?
I actually applied to Barnard as an astrophysics major, and I thought that was what I was interested in until the summer before I started here! Over the summer, I did Kode With Klossy, and I got to learn a lot about both coding and the culture of tech. After that, I knew I wanted to do something with CS and that I was interested in combining CS with another discipline. When I took Educational Foundations—my first class in the Barnard Education Department—it finally clicked for me. I knew I wanted to study both CS and Education, I just had to figure out how.
I’m really passionate about CS because I think that coding is a useful skillset for both social and economic reasons. These days, technology is power, and I want to be part of changing how algorithms are created. There are so many cool ways to use tech to make people’s lives better. I think that who creates our technology should reflect the population it serves, and we should encourage people of all different backgrounds to be in STEM. I hope that by pursuing CS, I can encourage other people like me to pursue it as well.
What made you decide to create your own major?
I absolutely loved my education classes and I wanted to pursue CS in a way that felt authentic to me. It definitely wasn't an easy process and a lot of time went into the proposal, but now all the classes I take are super exciting for me. My classes are centered around CS and education, and I also take some psychology and some other design-focused classes.
What have your favorite classes been?
My favorite class in Education was Educational Foundations, and my favorite class in CS was User Interface Design (with Prof. Smith)!
Are the classes competitive?
Not really, but you are often in the same classes as people that have been coding for a long time. A lot of the CS classes are hosted at SEAS, Columbia’s engineering school, which can be challenging if you’re new to the discipline.
What is the relationship with Columbia like?
It’s really cool that we have all of the Columbia engineering school courses available to us. Most of the introductory CS classes are housed there, while Barnard CS houses mostly upper level electives. If you’re pursuing a CS major, a lot of the core classes take place at Columbia, which can be good or bad depending on the person.
What’s special about CS at Barnard?
Honestly, the best thing about CS at Barnard is the stuff outside the classroom. I love the Barnard CS Help Room on the 5th floor of the Milstein Center. It’s just a room of women and non-binary identifying students all working together. There's also stuff like the Barnard Computational Science Center which does cool programming, such as the Diversity in Computing workshop series, and the Athena Digital Design Agency. There are a lot of cool computing stuff that happen outside of the stereotypical CS classroom.
Is there anything else you want to share?
CS at Barnard is a really rapidly growing community, and the numbers have drastically shot up in the past 10 years. In 2013, there was one graduating CS major and now CS is one of Barnard’s most popular majors. It’s really cool that so many more folks are interested in studying CS. I’ve loved having the opportunity to voice my opinions about the future of CS at Barnard and know that my ideas will be respected and heard.