Soldier on, it will be worth it in the end!
Desiree Gases
Merlyn Jagger is a 22-year-old young woman born and raised in Windhoek, Namibia. She has been studying informatics, the study of the structure, behaviour and interactions of natural and engineered computational systems, and is currently pursuing her honours degree. She started at the Namibian University of Science and Technology in 2018.
Informatics is a three-year course for the bachelor's degree, while for honours degree, it’s an extra year.
When Varsity Corner asked Jagger why she chose to study informatics, she said: “I wanted to challenge myself and choose something way out of my comfort zone as I've never had anything related to computing in high school”. This course is everything and more Jagger expected it to be. “It was a good gamble,” she added. Informatics as a course demands your problem-solving skills and critical thinking to be at its peak as it needs you to think outside of the box to find solutions to problems, she said.
When it comes to her experience in the course so far, Jagger said: “It was good. Information was always readily available; people were eager to assist. Campus life was great, meeting new people every day led to learning something new even when Covid-19 hit us, the transition to online platforms has been seamless and efficient”. On the challenges she faced, time was one of them. “I didn't always have time to give proper individual attention to each module, but now that's a skill I have acquired: Time management,” she said.
Varsity Corner asked Jagger what advice she would give to first years doing the same course hoping to graduate one day. She said: “Don't go in with the ‘it's difficult’ mindset, but rather be open to learning and understanding. Always look for assistance immediately when you start struggling to prevent falling behind and, lastly, soldier on, it will be worth it in the end!”
Merlyn Jagger is a 22-year-old young woman born and raised in Windhoek, Namibia. She has been studying informatics, the study of the structure, behaviour and interactions of natural and engineered computational systems, and is currently pursuing her honours degree. She started at the Namibian University of Science and Technology in 2018.
Informatics is a three-year course for the bachelor's degree, while for honours degree, it’s an extra year.
When Varsity Corner asked Jagger why she chose to study informatics, she said: “I wanted to challenge myself and choose something way out of my comfort zone as I've never had anything related to computing in high school”. This course is everything and more Jagger expected it to be. “It was a good gamble,” she added. Informatics as a course demands your problem-solving skills and critical thinking to be at its peak as it needs you to think outside of the box to find solutions to problems, she said.
When it comes to her experience in the course so far, Jagger said: “It was good. Information was always readily available; people were eager to assist. Campus life was great, meeting new people every day led to learning something new even when Covid-19 hit us, the transition to online platforms has been seamless and efficient”. On the challenges she faced, time was one of them. “I didn't always have time to give proper individual attention to each module, but now that's a skill I have acquired: Time management,” she said.
Varsity Corner asked Jagger what advice she would give to first years doing the same course hoping to graduate one day. She said: “Don't go in with the ‘it's difficult’ mindset, but rather be open to learning and understanding. Always look for assistance immediately when you start struggling to prevent falling behind and, lastly, soldier on, it will be worth it in the end!”
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