I am a senior at Bucknell University, located in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania (a small town in the heart of central Pennsylvania). In May 2003, I will graduate with a degree in computer engineering and a dual minor in mathematics and physics. I am still trying to decide whether to go onto graduate school or find a job in industry after graduation. One of the most important things to me is community service. At Bucknell, I serve as the Alumni Chair of Alpha Phi Omega, a national, co-ed service fraternity, and volunteer at Rockwell Center, a local assisted-living facility. I am also a member of the Community Service Team, an organization that promotes community service on campus and in the local community. In April, we held a walk to commemorate and celebrate lives touched by cancer. With the collaboration of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, the Light the Night walk raised over $7500. My hometown is Derry, Pennsylvania (about an hour northeast of Pittsburgh). I've lived there my entire life with my parents and brother. During the past two summers, I've worked at the front desk at Mountain View Inn, a family-run hotel about 20 minutes away from my house. I learned of the DMP program from Amie Souter, a computer science professor at Bucknell, who had participated in the program as an undergraduate and who was applying to be a mentor at the University of Delaware for this summer. With the encouragement of my Operating Systems professor, Jerry Mead, I decided to apply. When I received my acceptance email, I was excited and then surprised to find that I was chosen to go to the University of Texas at Austin. Austin was so far away! But I soon realized what an amazing experience this could be. It turns out that my instincts were correct - I am definitely glad I took a chance and came!