Everyone has an interest, something they devote a lot of time to, and enjoy doing. For junior Abhinav Arumilli, it’s computer science. Along with many other students, he was first introduced to programming and computers in 8th grade, and instantly fell in love with the concepts and vast variety of topics.
“I first started working on programming in 9th grade, in Mr. Johnson’s AP Computer Science A class. Before that, I did Tech Apps in 8th grade and was familiar with Excel,” said Arumilli.
Although he learns a lot through his teachers, Arumilli also enjoys exploring the field on his own. With the extensive amount of interesting subjects and areas of compsci, there’s always something new to acquire skill in. Arumilli believes the amount of different things one can learn is like a never ending rabbit hole.
“For me, computer science classes such as CompSci A or Data Structures themselves did not interest me as much, because of their focus on java and game development. Instead, I do love working on solo projects. The first project that I got into was automating a spreadsheet that tracked all the stocks in the NYSE, NASDAQ, and NIFTY indexes and exchanges,” said Arumilli. “By myself, I’ve focused on data analysis and skills I need for specific projects, including regressions and statistical manipulation, Excel (interface between my database and R for quick tasks), and SQL.”
His passion for computers and programming does not end there. Arumilli also devotes time to teaching and helping other students. He chose to give back to his community and help other children because it is very rewarding for him, and he enjoys watching his students develop new expertise.
“When I started teaching others, I had no experience with Scratch, Robotics or Javascript. But, as I explained concepts and answered people’s questions, I was also able to learn many new things. I enjoy helping others grow and discover new things in this field. It’s honestly impressive that students that are as young as 8 are able to actually concentrate and code in various languages and, while it can be frustrating at times, watching them grow as programmers makes it rewarding,” said Arumilli.
One of Arumilli’s favorite things about computer science is that it allows him to combine his two passions, Economics and CompSci, to create fun projects. He actively learns processes and shortcuts in different languages, which help him do projects quicker and with more efficiency.
“The main project I worked on last semester was a multiple regression model that evaluated the MCAP of a company based on fundamental data. Setting up the database and regressions took me nearly two months, when it is now a one week process,” said Arumilli.
For anybody interested in going into the computer science field, or something relating to that area of study, Arumilli’s advice is to find something that you’re passionate about. Although he took classes that he was not interested in, he learnt a lot and was able to apply those ideas and topics to what he was fascinated by. Since he learnt the basics, he is able to create his own projects and increase his skill level in CompSci Independent Study. In the future, Arumilli does want to find a career in the same field.
“I want to continue building economic models, and want to minor in compsci at college,” said Arumilli. “I want to build a model measuring fluctuations in the inflation rate based upon changes in the monetary base, consumer confidence, and interest rates to prove the hypothesis that the Federal Reserve can not significantly manipulate inflation anymore, a reason why they have not been able to hit their 2 percent inflation target, through repo agreements and printing more money due to the size of the existing monetary base, high consumer confidence in the dollar, and the low-interest rate climate we live in today.”
