Anissa Agahchen

I originally wanted to study medicine. But I got stumped during my second year of biology courses. I just couldn’t visualize the molecular models we were learning about in organic chemistry. I was having an identity crisis! I knew I would bomb my courses if I stayed on the same path. But what else would allow me to have as big a social impact as medicine?

I didn’t have especially good grades in math, but I did enjoy it. So I went to my math professor for advice. He told me bluntly that I had potential, but I just wasn’t putting in enough effort. He offered to delay my final exam and let me work on it over the summer. I worked my butt off that summer, and ended up doing really well.

But what could I do with a degree in math? My professor suggested that computer science could be a good practical application. When I took computer science in high school, I didn’t like it very much. But I loved my first class at university. I had found the answer I was looking for! The downside was that I basically had to start my degree all over again.

In retrospect, the switch from biology and medicine to math and computer science may have been painful, but it was well worth it. And although I never went to medical school, my biology courses did give me important real-life knowledge. I use that knowledge every day to help me understand and explain things. So I wasn’t wasting my time. I was using what I was learning to find my own career path.