As a young teen, Garima Jain did not understand the computer game Minesweeper.
鈥淚 would just click random buttons,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 wondered how someone thought up this game and made it on a computer.鈥�
Noticing Jain鈥檚 curiosity, her father encouraged her to pursue computer science classes. She took his advice and quickly learned new programming languages that allowed her to recreate the game.
Jain went on to study computer science at J.C. Bose University of Science and Technology, YMCA in her hometown of Faridabad, India, before transferring for her junior year to UMass Lowell, where she continues to major in computer science with a minor in mathematics.
鈥淭he USA has a lot of opportunities, and it was my dream country to go get an education,鈥� says Jain, whose older sister, Shruti, received a master鈥檚 degree in computer science from UML.
Interested in gaining research experience while at the university, Jain knocked on the doors of professors looking to work in one of their labs. She met Fred Martin, a computer science professor and Kennedy College of Sciences associate dean for teaching, learning and undergraduate studies, who offered her a position within his .
Through Martin鈥檚 National Science Foundation-funded project, , Jain helped develop a culturally responsive computer science curriculum for middle school students.
鈥淥ne of the goals of the project was to present computer science for all, be it underrepresented minorities or women,鈥� she says.
Jain visited middle schools in Methuen to showcase the curriculum, which included having students create vision boards to design apps that can serve their communities.
She traveled to Uppsala, Sweden, with Martin and three other students to present their CS Pathways work at the 2022 Frontiers in Education Conference.
鈥淭his conference gave me the opportunity to present my research, discover the latest trends in my field, gain knowledge from experts and explore a new city,鈥� Jain says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a once-in-a-lifetime experience.鈥�
The skills Jain gained from working in Martin鈥檚 lab translated over to her internship with software company Dell Technologies at its Hopkinton, Massachusetts, office.
鈥淲hen I started my journey at Dell, I promised myself that I would get the most out of this opportunity by not shying away from questions and networking with a lot of people,鈥� she says. 鈥淭his is something I learned at UML while working on the research project.鈥�
At Dell, Jain worked on ransomware detection using machine learning. Through the internship, she realized the importance of applying what she had learned in class to the real world, so she reached out to additional professors, hoping to gain more experience. Computer Science Asst. Prof. Hadi Amiri welcomed Jain into his lab and started her on a research project related to her machine-learning interests.
鈥淲orking on that project and being surrounded by all the teammates in his lab has been a wonderful experience,鈥� she says. 鈥淓very week, we have a meeting, and I learn something new.鈥�
For Jain, there are two characteristics that make UMass Lowell so special.
鈥淭here is a lot of opportunity, and the people here are amazing,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 love the culture at UMass Lowell.鈥�