#CodingLabStudents: Josephine, 14, Raffles Girls' School
Our team had the opportunity to catch up with our talented student, Josephine, 14. A member of her school's Infocomm club, she started with Coding Lab in 2017, where she was first introduced to Python programming. She has since progressed upward and can now count programming in C++ as another skill under her belt. This humble and intelligent student shares with us her journey in programming and why she enjoys the challenge it poses for her.Hi Josephine! Could you share with us how you got started on coding?I started coding at the end of 2017, mostly due to school's influence because I am in the Infocomm club. I like computers so I thought I might as well try coding and see if my interest lies there. So that is how I started researching on coding - lessons and which ones I can join. How was the learning experience and what did you like about it?I started with Python and it was very fun! Honestly! It was new and it was fun. It was something other than school work so it was great. I guess afterward I became more and more interested so I kept continuing the lessons. And I think another part of Python that I really enjoyed was Python Perfect which was basically coding challenges. I would work on different challenges each week, to devise a solution to the problems. I really enjoyed it and that kept my interest sustained.
I started with Python and it was very fun! I really enjoyed Python Perfect which was basically coding challenges.
I know you are preparing for the NOI competition. How does it differ from your previous Python lessons?NOI is a completely different language - which is C++. Initially, the first day was quite hard to convert over to C++ because the syntax is quite different. But right now I find it quite fun.How does C++ compare to Python?I think it's the same. Both require logical thinking and designing algorithms. But C++, because it is an NOI lesson - the challenges are really hard. Harder than the Python ones. So they are quite hard to deal with and I feel like my brain is exploding sometimes (laughs) but it is still fun! How does it help you in school? Do you think it is an essential skill to learn? When I code in school, I do see some of my friends getting interested in it. They will ask me about it. I told my CCA teacher that I am taking Python lessons outside of infocomm because Infocomm doesn't do any Python lessons. I enjoy thinking - especially the application of school mathematics to Python. I get really excited when I see lines and lines of code (yes, really!).
I enjoy thinking - especially the application of school mathematics to Python.
What career would you like to pursue in the future?I cannot very confidently say I would like to code for the rest of my life (laughs). But definitely more towards the area of Science. I think it is an extremely important skill to have because society is fast-paced now.
Technology is getting more and more advanced so in the future, it will be hard to survive in the world when you have absolutely no idea what is happening behind the computers, the AI, and the robots.
Josephine, 14, is a student at Raffles Girls' School. She started off with our basic Python course and recently attended our NOI preparation class this summer. The National Olympiad in Informatics (NOI) is organized by NUS School of Computing annually to spur interest within the school community and to create more awareness among the students and teachers on the finer points of programming, which involves useful algorithmic techniques and problem-solving skills.