Soumya’s original thoughts of studying abroad in Digital Sciences were as follows:
“Being an international student, it was a great experience for me to stay independently – all by myself. Digital Sciences offered good coursework and was flexible enough to offer courses from various fields.” She says her goal was “learning telecommunication and computer science” and that, “Digital Sciences allowed me to study both programming and other core subjects.”
Although many aspects remain true about these original statements, Soumya didn’t complete this journey completely on her own. Support came from various places such as advisors, host families, professors and friends. Within the Digital Sciences network, Soumya received help from her academic advisor Kay Levandowski who was always patient and encouraging. When asked about her favorite professor she immediately responded, “Augustin Samba”. Soumya goes on to explain, “He [Professor Samba] taught me networking. He was so patient with students, gave the best lectures, and I got to learn a lot from his assignments. He also made us work on projects in teams, and had discussions in class. It was quite interactive. I took four of his classes!”
As for Soumya’s time at Kent outside of the classroom, she says it was memorable.Throughout her time in Kent she mentions, “I made a lot of friends at Kent, who have made a big impact on my life. I thank Kent State for being so encouraging and supportive and for helping me take my career further.” She even went further than networking inside of school but states, “I met an American family through ISSS. I am still in touch with them. They’ve been a great source of support.” From all these awesome connections Soumya was able to travel outside of Kent, OH and “enjoyed my trips to Cedar Point and Niagra Falls too!” .
Aside from the lively things around northeast Ohio Soumya was able to do, she also speaks on her ability, “to balance my studies along with an on-campus job. Soumya now works as a Java Developer in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She began applying to positions all over the U.S. Here advice to future students looking at the Masters of Digital Sciences is as follows:
“My advice to students at the school is to plan out your coursework in advance, choosing the courses that would be useful in the real world… Approach the concepts in the courses practically along with gaining theoretical knowledge.”
Hopefully Soumya’s testimony helps to figure out if this program is right for you.