Frequently Asked Questions

I'm not sure what will exactly happen with this page but I'll give it whirl...

What is CRAW and DMP?

CRAW is the Computer Research Association's Women's Committee. DMP is the Distributed Mentor Project. Basically CRAW runs DMP which works to increase the number of women participating in Computer Science research and entering graduate school. How they accomplish this through DMP is they pair undergraduate female CS students with female CS professors at research unniversities to give the participants a chance to experience research and graduate school as well as develop a mentoring relationship for the summer.

How did you find out about DMP?

I first found out about DMP when one of my professors (who is also my advisor) showed me a brochure about the program. So I decided to apply since I was having a hard time deciding what to do for the summer. I was accepted and here I am.

What is an "average" day like?

An average work day for me starts fairly early. I tend to get up early to beat some of rush hour for my drive to the U of Minn. I spend the day working in the graphics lab. There are usually anywhere between 3 to 10 people working on a variety of projects in the lab. I work coding, testing, and looking up things I need to know, as well as spending some time discussing the project with Haleh, the grad student who I'm helping. The lab tends to be pretty quiet (at least compared to the Robotics and AI lab I've visited here). But it has been fun to slowly get to know everyone.

How has this experience changed what you think about grad school and computer science research?

Before my DMP experience, I knew very little about graduate school and almost nothing about computer science research. This summer has definitely increased my knowledge of both. I enjoyed being part of a large research project though it was at times frustrating. Graduate school wasn't something I had even started to consider until I heard about this program and a few of my professors at Bethel started to suggest that I should think about it (both DMP and grad school). Now I think graduate school is something I will seriously consider, though I don't think that I would end up doing research in computer science as a career.



Have a question that is not answered here? Email me and I will do my best... Maybe your question will even end up on this page. :)