Harper College will be closed Monday, December 23 through Wednesday, January 1 for Winter Break.
Samantha Ernst is ready to head into her final year at Harper College. Samantha is
working to toward her Associate in Engineering Science at Harper with a specific focus
on computer science. Samantha decided on this path after her dad, who was a Network
Engineer at US Cellular, introduced her to MIT’s scratch, a block based visual programming
language at age 11. She notes she enjoys the logic of programming language and pursued
several computer science classes in high school, and now as an Engineering Pathways
student at Harper. She plans to transfer to U of I after graduation from Harper. She
maintains a 4.0 GPA and is part of the Harper Promise program.
Samantha has focused on community service by volunteering with a program called CompSci which teaches kids in grades 1-8 various computer science concepts. She enjoyed this experience and dedicated over 40 volunteer hours to this program. She has also volunteered at Schaumburg Township District Library, Vacation Church School Campus and at the Sugar Rush 5K at Busse Woods.
In her scholarship essay Samantha states, “I want to use computer science to help people. I have had experience in programming mobile apps to solve problems, creating websites to fill a need and to connect people, and encountered products that make the world a better place. I would like to be a part of that mission and know that there is a purpose behind my work that will help others. This scholarship will help pay for my education and provide a wonderful opportunity.”