Half a Decade at UCLA
This is a continuation of one of my previous articles, Halfway through UCLA, which talks about the first half of my Bruin journey. If you are a freshman, prospective student, or parent of a prospective student, that article might be a good starting point to learn about some amazing student organizations, superb courses, diverse people, and the sheer abundance of opportunities at UCLA.
5 years ago, I moved diametrically across the globe to pursue my higher education at UCLA. Needless to say, I got much, much more than a Bachelor’s and a Master’s in Computer Science.
In all honestly, the last few months of my half a decade at UCLA were anticlimactic–with me living in complete isolation in deserted, COVID-era Westwood, grinding hard till the last second to complete my Master’s thesis, ultimately ending with a lackluster online commencement. This article is an attempt to refute my recency bias of remembering a solitary, draining experience and to give me a better sense of closure to a life-changing half a decade.
I not only want to cement in writing some of my best experiences in the latter half of my time at UCLA, but I also want to provide a window into the life of an international student at a US university. While there are way too many things to talk about, the broad themes I focus on below were derived from questions I’ve been asked on various UCLA panels I’ve spoken at, and chats I’ve had with students over the past few years. By writing about topics that people are evidently curious about, I hope this article is more than just personal memorabilia and actually helps someone, perhaps in making decisions.
A few Transformative Experiences
Many experiences during my time at UCLA molded me. One of the most transformative experiences was leading a vibrant organization, UCLA ACM, in my junior year. UCLA ACM is one of the largest student-run tech organizations in Southern California, with over 700 members and 120 events organized every year.
This experience was transformative because leading a large student organization is hard. The challenges include keeping members and officers engaged, coordinating with companies, and being the voice of students for communications with the department, among others. Further, one has to lead with influence rather than authority because officers are full-time students who are volunteering on top of their busy schedules. Over the course of the year that I was President of UCLA ACM, I became much better at communication, listening, and collaboration. While leading UCLA ACM was a challenging experience, it was also incredibly rewarding. We accomplished many things and were even recognized by the international ACM with a Chapter Excellence Award!
Another transformative experience was teaching. There were several teaching opportunities at ACM; the one I particularly enjoyed was teaching basic programming to elementary school children over three months. It was very fulfilling to introduce Computer Science fundamentals to kids and it always made my day to see the joy in their eyes when they got their programs to work.
During my Master’s, I became a Teaching Assistant (TA), and teaching undergrads for an academic year was one of the highlights during my graduate school. I got to see the other side of an educational institution and connect with hundreds of students in a new context. I’ve come to realize that teaching is an art form; it takes tremendous skill and practice to effectively explain concepts while being engaging, fun, and getting everyone to participate. Every week, I put immense effort into crafting an interactive, useful discussion section, and answering every email and Piazza question as best as I could. But I learned that no matter how much effort you put in, it is unbelievably hard to make every student happy. For instance, the anonymous evaluations of my teaching at the end of the courses ranged from “Slides were helpful but not TA himself” to “OK TA” to “If every TA I had was like Mihir, I would have enjoyed my undergraduate courses 10 X”. Comments like this last one made it worth putting in as much effort as I did. By learning how to teach, I’ve become more proficient in explaining seemingly mundane things in an interesting way—which I think is a good skill to have.
My internship experiences over the summers were also transformative—not only in honing my technical skills but also in developing my world view. While I’ve written about my internship experiences in other places, the one point that I want to reiterate here is: I’ve always felt that companies and people in the US tech industry are willing to bet on you and present you with great opportunities, even if you have no prior experience. For instance, my first internship manager gave me a chance when I was a freshman with no relevant experience. She liked my enthusiasm and willingness to learn and thought it was worth giving me a shot, even though her company did not hire any international student interns before. Another example is that I failed my first interview at Quora, yet when I reached out again to the hiring manager in a year, he happily gave me another chance to interview.
I’m very grateful that I was able to intern at 4 wonderful companies that challenged me and taught me a lot. The abundant opportunities, even for an international student, demonstrate that the tech industry here is unique and bountiful.
Living in the City of Stars
One of the best things about UCLA is its location––set in the beautiful backdrop of Los Angeles, there are limitless exciting opportunities laid out for college students. While the list of my favorite things to do in LA is more suited for another article, I want to highlight one kind of experience that conceivably cannot be had in any other city in the world.
Because of UCLA’s proximity to Beverly Hills, Bel Air, and Hollywood, one question I’m often asked is whether I’ve seen any celebrities. The answer is: yes, many! The Fox Theater in Westwood, just steps away from campus, regularly has several film and show premieres, and I was able to attend a few premieres and catch a glimpse of several stars over the years.
Two of my favorite experiences have been: watching the red-carpet premiere of Julia Roberts’ Homecoming with her and the entire cast at the theatre, and attending a taping of A Little Late with Lilly Singh, in which Zachary Woods (Jared from Silicon Valley) handed me a cherry pie.
For a lot of the red carpet premieres and show tapings, the organizers are looking for energetic, cheerful crowds. For instance, one of the organizers at the late-night talk show I went to, told us to laugh hysterically at every single joke even if it wasn’t funny to us; “You’re not watching TV. You are the TV!”, she said. Organizers need people willing to trade laughs and cheers for seats at the premiere and free popcorn. And who can be a better set of people than UCLA students? So what makes these experiences even cooler is that I never paid a single cent.
Graduate School and Research
One question I get frequently asked is: “Why pursue a Master’s degree in Computer Science?”. It is relatively easy to find good jobs with just a Bachelor’s in Computer Science, so it’s not obvious why anyone would get an MS and then go to the industry.
My reasons for getting an MS were simple. First, I was genuinely interested in diving deeper into some areas of Computer Science. I think that as soon as you start getting into the really interesting things in your undergrad, you graduate. A master’s degree lets you explore the bleeding-edge of a field. For example, in one of my graduate courses, Quantum Programming, I was able to actually run programs on a Quantum computer. Second, the MS program could be completed in only nine months and it was essentially free since I was a TA — the time and money investment were very bearable. Third, since I was continuing at UCLA, the application process was hassle-free (read: I did not have to take the GRE) and I already knew the Professors I wanted to research with.
Working on research projects was a humbling experience. I experienced the colossal difference in the thinking abilities of experts of a subject (i.e. Professors) and non-experts about a subject matter. By working on my Master’s thesis and on two projects that were accepted for publication, I witnessed the scrutiny, ingenuity, and rigor that go into any research project. With this experience, I’ve become much better at forming clear, coherent arguments, at diving deep to critically analyze complex topics, and at presenting my views in writing.
Great People = Great Times
People around you can make or break an experience. From friends to professors to mentors to students—I was fortunate to be surrounded by great people at UCLA. A huge credit for my amazing experience goes to them.
College provides an intimate environment where people grow together. I grew up and matured alongside many friends over the past 5 years. A lot of my friends were very different from me: in ethnicities, backgrounds, majors, and hometowns. At UCLA we shared many growing-up experiences: going to a bar when we turned 21, getting a job and realizing how much we were taxed, being in a relationship, or simply failing at things for the first time. By seeing the highs and lows of many of my friends’ lives, I realized that despite coming from different backgrounds, people’s hopes, aspirations, and values can be strikingly similar.
I witnessed the metamorphosis of so many people from eager, 18-year-olds to brilliant individuals with great careers lined up ahead. It always gives me immense happiness, even a little bit of pride, to see people I’ve grown up with succeed: be it getting into medical school or great Ph.D. programs, getting research published, or getting amazing job offers. (Aside: if you’re a friend reading this, please always continue to share your success stories with me, it really makes me happy!)
My year of graduate school gave me another opportunity to connect with more people within my field. Classes in grad school are typically small, and you get to interact and debate with Professors and other grad students a lot more than in undergrad. I got to know a few Professors a little more personally. My close interactions with Professors, especially my undergraduate and graduate advisor, Dr. Miryung Kim, always enriched my perspective.
Half a decade at UCLA has shaped who I am.
It has equipped me with valuable life skills including communication, listening, leading, writing, teaching, collaboration, and understanding people different from me. As I conclude this chapter of my life, I am thankful for all the values and skills that UCLA has imbibed in me, and I am hopeful to use these in my professional journey.
Hope you enjoyed reading about some of my experiences!
A thing to note is that I am an optimist. Almost all the experiences I write or talk about are usually very good. I’ve obviously experienced an assortment of negative experiences, failures, and rejections in the past years — I just tend not to describe them as much. My objective with this article was to give a glimpse of a few good parts of my UCLA story. For the freshmen reading this, I hope this encouraged you to make the most out of your college experience!
If you read till here, you might also enjoy this video of my favorite places in the UCLA campus:
Shoutout to Kyra Benowitz for proof-reading this article and giving great suggestions!
If you liked this piece, check out more of my writing at mihirmathur.com/writes
