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Honors College student Vanessa Chen has a creative side and a logical side, and she wants to use both.

She started at UMass Lowell as a graphic design major, but that didn鈥檛 satisfy her logical side, she says. She decided to try an honors computer science class with Assoc. Teaching Prof. David Adams 鈥� and she got hooked.聽

鈥淚 took one class, and after the first day, I thought, 鈥楾his is it!鈥� I fell in love with computer science,鈥� she says. 鈥淐omputer science is creative problem-solving, and the way that you program is your own style.鈥�

Now, she works for Adams, grading other students鈥� work. And she spreads the gospel of computer science (and Adams) anytime she gets the chance.

鈥淲henever somebody younger asks me, 鈥楽hould I take a class?鈥� I say, 鈥業f it鈥檚 Prof. Adams, you have to take it,鈥欌�� she says. 鈥淗e鈥檚 so passionate about computer science, and he gets the students to be passionate about it as well.鈥�

Chen went to high school in nearby Pelham, New Hampshire (her family has since moved to Hampton, New Hampshire), so UMass Lowell was a logical choice for her, she says, since she could live at home to save money.

Added incentives included admission to the Honors College and the award of a $4,000 Immersive Scholarship, which undergraduates can use after their first year to do research with a faculty member or study abroad.

Chen decided to take advantage of the during her sophomore year. She was excited to visit a completely different culture and use some of the Spanish she鈥檇 studied in high school.

鈥淚t was honestly the best experience of my life,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t was so culturally immersive. The program did a good job of making you feel like a Cuban, not like a tourist. Even though we visited museums and all that, we had a lot of down time and we could go off on our own and talk to people. And the friendships I made through the trip were so special.鈥�

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Chen found another creative outlet: Instagram. She started out by posting food photos. Then, when Instagram introduced 鈥淩eels,鈥� allowing users to post short videos, Chen began posting fashion videos, like 鈥淓mojis as Outfits.鈥澛�

Instagram featured one of her reels, 鈥淪tyling Graphic Ts,鈥� in late August 2020, and within four months, her account shot up from having 1,500 followers to 84,000 and counting.聽

Now, being an Instagram influencer is a part-time job that gets her a lot of free clothes. Ultimately, though, she wants to work full-time in web development.

鈥淵ou dedicate hours to a problem, and you鈥檙e slamming your head against the table, and it won鈥檛 work,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd then you get it 鈥� and it just feels so amazing.鈥�