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Catherine Ichwan

1,145

Bold Points

1x

Nominee

1x

Finalist

Bio

Hi! My name is Cathy. I am a freshman at UCSD. I am pursuing a major in Math-Computer Science and might take a minor in business or international relations. I have been exposed to Computer Science from a young age, and I believe that coding is the solution to better human life. Technology is limitless and can always be learned from. My acquisition of knowledge is never-ending, and I want to pursue such higher education to surpass the present me. My biggest philosophy is that change is one's best friend, and I have learned to live with change, no matter how large. Therefore, my capacity for knowledge must continue to change, hopefully for the better. I intend to become one who utilizes my knowledge of Computer Science to innovate and create resources for the general public to use. I'd like to program AIs to alleviate the detritus of our communities or to program biotechnology to better society. Having a deaf and mute uncle, I always wanted to design an instrument for him to be able to hear and talk. Hopefully, in the near future, such technology may become a reality, maybe even invented by me!

Education

University of California-San Diego

Bachelor's degree program
2021 - 2025
  • Majors:
    • Mathematics and Computer Science

Foothill High School

High School
2017 - 2021

Miscellaneous

  • Desired degree level:

    Master's degree program

  • Graduate schools of interest:

  • Transfer schools of interest:

  • Majors of interest:

    • Computer Science
    • Business/Commerce, General
    • Cognitive Science
  • Not planning to go to medical school
  • Career

    • Dream career field:

      Computer Software

    • Dream career goals:

      Founder or Senior Coder

    • Tutorer

      Peer Tutoring
      2018 – Present6 years
    • Tutored students in math

      Independent
      2017 – 20203 years

    Sports

    Track & Field

    Junior Varsity
    2018 – 20191 year

    Arts

    • Independent

      Music
      n/a
      2018 – Present

    Public services

    • Volunteering

      Volunteering at Senior Livings — Member
      2014 – Present
    • Advocacy

      Color of Change — Host Fundraiser and Solo Campaigner on Social Media/Community
      2020 – Present
    • Advocacy

      Greenpeace — President of GP Club and Solo in Campaigning w/ GP
      2019 – Present
    • Volunteering

      CSF — Member
      2017 – Present
    • Advocacy

      Greenpeace — Club President, Youth Leader, Campus Rep
      2019 – Present
    • Volunteering

      Interact — Treasurer
      2017 – Present
    • Volunteering

      surf rider — volunteer
      2017 – 2020
    • Volunteering

      surf rider — volunteer
      2017 – 2019
    • Volunteering

      red cross — volunteer and treasurer
      2017 – Present

    Future Interests

    Advocacy

    Volunteering

    Philanthropy

    Entrepreneurship

    Art of Giving Scholarship
    As a first-generation Asian American, coming from a low-income household, and the first to go to college in my family, nothing has been more important to me than pursuing higher education. As a child, I promised myself that I would take advantage of my resources to be the first one to go and pursue that higher education. I’ve always seen higher education as an opportunity to escape the lower class and open a door to new changes that are not possible without a degree. In the upcoming fall, I will be a freshman at UCSD, majoring in Math-CS. Computer science was always a subject that I enjoyed at school, and although I did not have access to a computer at home, there were always public libraries and school programs that would allow me the opportunity to chase after this “hobby.” It would become more than a hobby when I took my first programming class in middle school and became enthralled by the positive impact that coding has on people’s lives. In high school, I learned that my coding capabilities could be used for the better. I used my knowledge in building websites and applications, ranging from themes of climate awareness and COVID-19 mental support. Doing this made me realize that as much as I loved Computer Science, I loved using my skills and giving back to the people around me more. This is why I follow my ambitions of Computer Science. I want to expand my realm of CS knowledge and code even better applications and websites that can reach a larger audience. Even better, I want technology to become accessible to anybody. With the STEM field expanding, it allows for the socioeconomic gap in technology to lessen and allows more people to find an interest in CS. I am hopeful for what I can do with the knowledge I will gain at college; however, the financial burden of tuition is my biggest struggle. Both my parents make very little of an income, so their financial support is limited. My university is also very far away from my area of residence, so I have no choice but to dorm at the school. Even with the combinations of loans, financial grants, and work-study, my tuition is still too much for me to afford. I need this scholarship because I don’t want to let go of my dream of receiving a higher education. My passion is to create my own software company and give back to those who desire to pursue higher education to also give back to the communities around them, whether it be through providing technology, classes, or even scholarships like this one. Thank you.
    Simple Studies Scholarship
    For my eighth birthday, my mother gifted me a journal. She told me to write all of my thoughts in the journal and so I did. I used my journal to draw models of robots and human symbiosis. Back then, these different models were mere aspirations I had for the future, and I would sometimes ponder whether these models I doodled were ever going to be attainable in my lifetime. Today, artificial intelligence is merely surfacing; however, I promised my younger self that in this lifetime I will live out to be the one who develops such artificial intelligence programs. In retrospect, that journal was the catalyst for the beginning of my vocation towards technology, specifically how technology is able to work. Growing up with a Computer Technician father, computer hardware became a niche for me; however, the curiosity inside of me desired to understand how it all corresponded with each other. Thus, I began to explore Computer Science only on my own and was intrigued to find that my middle school had offered coding classes. Moving forward, I realized that Computer Science had been a subconscious ambition of mine up until then, so I decided to pursue that ambition and took Computer Science classes at my high school and will be graduating high school with a completed CTE CS Pathways Certification. Through that process, I realized what code was capable of and was reminded of the promise I made to my younger self. Yet, how could a high school student-built such artificial intelligence programs? However, outside of my academic drive for CS, I am an advocate for our Earth with events such as Protect The Arctic, the Amazon and Australian Fires, and the Anti-Plastic Campaign, and founded the first environmental club at my school. Educating myself with our dire climate emergencies, I desired to use what I am capable of to alleviate such a crisis. What came to mind? Computer Science. Though not with the same journal, I came up with an idea to write AI programs that will reduce the amount of litter and plastic debris we see in our communities. The program would be adaptive and implement neuro sensors to allow the AIs to detect such refuse in communities and process them on the spot to produce sustainable human products. This would not only aid the littering problem of our Earth, which contributes to global warming through carbon emissions but also prevent such plastics from ending up in oceans, turning into microplastics that hurt not only the wildlife but us. The only way to fulfill such a promise was to take that inherent drive of mine and continue it to college with a Computer Science major. By doing so, I will be able to smile at my younger self and tell her, "I did it. I developed the first climate-saving artificial intelligence program for OUR Mother Earth!"
    TopMathematicsTutors Scholarship
    1. I would love to have more support with Calculus. Currently, I am taking my second calculus and the difficulty of some Calculus concepts makes me struggle and sometimes fall a little behind. It would be wonderful if I could get support in Calculus, and I also believe that in college, I will most definitely need aid with higher level Calculus courses. 2. Yes. 3. Math tutoring will help me because, from my experience, it allows someone to support you and relieve the obstacles that are presented to me with the math problems. When I had a math tutor for my Pre-Calc and Calc class, our sessions made me realize that I did not truly understand the course material as much as I initially thought. The questions that he presented to me as we went through multiple practice problems helped me to truly understand the material and come to the correct methodology of how to solve such problems. With my second Calc class that I am taking, there are now new methodologies in solving these problems, and the foreign ways on how to solve such are making it hard for me to grasp the content. I believe that if given the opportunity to receive math tutoring for this class, I will be able to bring up my own clarity for the Calculus content and the unfamiliar technique that this class requires.
    Bold Moments No-Essay Scholarship
    Hands trembling as I steady my camera. Through the screen, I stare into the crowd of people. I helped organize this 2019 Climate Strike, and I just spoke in front of these people about our dire climate crisis. This one local climate strike being the catalyst for those around the world to perceive the importance to preserve our Earth and how many of us will fight for it. Snap! One photo is taken, the photo emblematic of my first, but not last, organized climate strike where together, we stand as a community to be the voice for Mother Nature!