CS371p Fall 2020: Barrett Schonefeld

What high school did you go to?

I went to Gilbert High School, which is famously known as the greatest school in all of Iowa.

What was your favorite extracurricular activity in high school?

Baseball was my thing. I dabbled in many other sports and hobbies, but I took baseball seriously. I intended on pitching in college, but I struggled with shoulder issues and eventually decided against it.

Why did you come to UT?

I came to UT to get back to my Texas roots and escape the Iowa winters. Luckily, you can do both of those things in Texas. Also, UT has great science and engineering programs, and although I wasn’t quite sure which field I wanted to study, I knew I wanted to study STEM.

Why are you majoring in CS?

I am majoring in computer science because I love its practicality. We get to simultaneously learn while we build functioning programs. It’s fun to see concepts come to life as a result of your own effort. I find many topics interesting and would love to study math, philosophy, history, etc. However, I chose computer science because it equips you with a uniquely applicable skill that can be done with a few easily accessible tools and anywhere from one to thousands of people.

Why are you in this class?

I’ve learned so much from Professor Downing’s courses, Software Engineering and Generic Programming. I love Professor Downing’s classes (Socratic method, plethora of tools, industry practices like CI and git), and I’m glad I get the opportunity to take another one of his courses. Also, object-oriented programming is such a fundamental concept in software engineering that understanding the principles and design patterns more thoroughly will certainly be helpful in the future. Even if I am practicing functional programming, understanding object-oriented practices will be useful for understanding the trade-offs between functional and object-oriented design.

What are your expectations of this class?

I expect to learn about C++, associated C++ tools, and object-oriented design patterns. I’m excited to learn and discuss different strategies for abstracting away behavior by building objects to handle that behavior.

How much C++ do you already know?

I did quite a bit of C++ programming in Gheith’s CS439, and I took Professor Downing’s Generic Programming course over the summer. Hence, I have a solid foundation in C++.

How did you like the two lectures?

The first two lectures were good! It reminded me of the reasons I like Software Engineering and Generic Programming and was a good warm-up to get prepared for this course. The content is quite familiar because I’ve taken the two courses I mentioned. Professor Downing’s online course delivery is good, and he’s managed the transition to online courses well.

How did you feel about the cold calling?

I like the cold calling! It’s fun, it keeps students engaged, and it provides live feedback on what students do and do not understand.