Sophomore math/computer science
major from San Antonio, Texas
Extracurricular activities: Life group, running, soccer, hanging out with friends, doing pretty much anything outdoors
Advice to incoming students: Be confident in who you are, open to God's will in your life, and you'll be fine.
You might also like to know: The Quiet Place is awesome!
Kendall Lundschen had never attempted computer programming before her senior year in high school. Like most teenagers, she used computers for "ordinary" things like e-mail and MySpace - but she'd never explored the unique language of programming.
During her senior year, she took her first programming class and discovered that she loved it. She'd always liked math and solving logic problems, so computer science came naturally to her. It helped that she liked her programming teacher, who took the time to explain what the students were doing and why instead of simply telling them to copy what she did.
One of her class activities was to participate in a programming contest hosted by ACU's School of Information Technology and Computing. Students were given five to eight problems to solve by creating a computer program. Kendall enjoyed the experience. She also was impressed with ACU's campus and the people she met there.
"I really liked how everyone was so friendly," she said. "I definitely liked the fact that it was a Christian college."
Now after almost a year on campus, Kendall is happy with her decision to attend ACU. She's still friends with some of the students from her U100 freshman course, and even took one of them home with her for fall break. She likes that her professors focus on explaining what students are doing and making sure they understand the concepts they're applying.
Kendall works for Dr. Dwayne Towell, assistant professor of computer science. She is one of two teacher's assistants, whose job includes writing homework problems for one of the programming classes. She also writes sample solutions to make sure the problems actually work.
"I really enjoy working for Dr. Towell," she said. "He was an awesome professor last semester, and he is a wonderful employer as well."
Kendall isn't sure what she wants to do with her degree. She thinks she might like to teach computer science or become a programmer.
"I guess I'll just go where God takes me," she said.
Whatever field she chooses to pursue, she's certain that technology will keep growing and expanding in the future.
"Everything in society is leaning toward technology," she said. "It can really apply to everything."
