CS 373 Fall 2022: Fernando Mercado



Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Cypress, Texas, and moved to Austin for college.

What high school did you attend?

Cypress Woods High School in Cypress, TX

What was your favorite extracurricular activity in high school?

I was on the swim team all 4 years and loved every minute of it. My team and coaches are dear to my heart and I cherish the memories made in that pool (despite them all being at the ungodly hours of 5-6 am)

Why did you come to UT?

I love the city of Austin but primarily because it has a stellar CS program and isn't across the country from my hometown of Cypress.

Why are you majoring in CS?

I've been on computers since I was 10 years old due to my dad introducing me to gaming, and both him and my mom also majored in CS back in the day so it only felt like a natural move given my love of technology.

Why are you in this class?

I have heard great things about the applicability of the material in this course to real workspaces and software development in teams.

What are your expectations of this class?

I am excited to learn the processes relating to web development and how working with a team to create a product will be. I also expect to learn more about SQL and Javascript and become experienced in both so that I can add them to my portfolio.

How much Javascript/Python/SQL/Web programming do you already know?

I have done Python on and off for classes since high school but no Javascript or SQL experience.

How did you like the first lectures?

The first one was very informative and gave me a good feeling about what the rest of the semester will be like. I unfortunately had to miss the second and third so I am excited to be back for the fourth.

How did you feel about the cold calling?

As I said above, I missed the lectures with cold calling but as a concept I think that it is a useful tool to get students to interact more, given that in a class without it, nobody usually talks.

How do you feel about specifications grading?

I think that it will be an interesting quirk of this course and that it will incentivize quality solutions as opposed to the solution that will get you an "A" or whatever other grade you were aiming for. I look forward to it.

What made you happy this week?

I went to Philadelphia with my family for an event and loved getting to see my family from Mexico which I typically only see every few years.

What's your pick-of-the-week or tip-of-the-week?

Often, lazy programming is actually more efficient and leads to simpler, more effective solutions. Don't try to reinvent the wheel!



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