UIUC Computer Science Supplement Anonymous

My interest in computer science was kindled after a basketball game in my freshman year. After the game, my father, who had been taking stats on the sideline in his notebook, contended that I had scored 21 points, yet I was absolutely certain I had scored 24. Convinced that he had made an error in his tallying, I resolved to find a better way to take statistics than the traditional pen and paper.

I decided to create a basketball statistics analysis application, but having never programmed before, I was unsure where to start. I began to explore programming, browsing the selection of books on my father’s bookshelf. After a few weeks of learning the principles of Visual Basic, I began to write my statistics utility, working on weekends and before school. The result was the Stat Master, an application which provides an interface to input and analyze basketball statistics more reliably.

Since then, I have pursued my interest in computer science inside and outside the classroom. From AP Computer Science in school, to my ongoing projects, including an application which uses basketball team characteristics to design a personalized offensive scheme, I have continued to delve into the fundamentals of software.

Despite my interest in...