Meet Samantha Velazco, a senior computer science student. Alongside volunteering on the Computer Science Student Advisory Council to serve as a bridge between students and faculty, she’s also a part of BOLD, STEM Scholars, and the Start Something Academy. We sat down with her to hear about her experience as a Computer Science major at Iowa State University.
She chose to attend Iowa State University for a plethora of reasons: the distance to her home, good financial aid and scholarship programs, and wanting to have both career and leadership opportunities on campus. As for why she chose to major in Computer Science, she had taken some computer science courses in high school, where she enjoyed coding and was curious about how she could further make an impact with the skills in the field.
“I came here knowing I wanted to make an impact with coding, but I didn't know how to start,” Velazco stated. “By getting involved with different programs and pushing myself out of my comfort zone I learned many things like how I was interested in Entrepreneurship and the innovation side of things aside from just coding and was able to join an academy that would help me flourish in that way.”
“I never would've known I was interested in Entrepreneurship before my time at ISU, and I've learned it's less business and money-like than I thought growing up,” she added. “Iowa State is actually a great place for those wanting to learn or apply entrepreneurship skills. There are lots of programs and events for students of all majors and colleges and lots of funding available for students as well… The resources here let students put their skills into making real impact how they want to!”
One opportunity related to entrepreneurship that Velazco has had the opportunity to be a part of is the Start Something Academy.
“The Start Something Academy has provided me with numerous resources to support my entrepreneurial journey,” she stated. “I've always known I had a passion for creating and making an impact, but Start Something lets me see this process from the beginning and gives structure to help that creation process actually begin and flourish. The academy not only tracks your progress but also requires students to participate in pitches, entrepreneurship events, proper customer discovery, and more.”