We are delighted to invite Eleanor Peng, Class of 2020, to share with our current students her college experiences and the journey of exploring her interests and choosing her academic path.
Here’s a message from Eleanor to her juniors:
When people say college is the most transformative period of your life, as cliché as it sounds, they’re right. Before I began, I was set on studying Computer Science—I even attended coding bootcamps during my gap year. But amid lots of doubts and confusion, I discovered something crucial: I wasn’t interested in the technical aspects. I was interested in humans—how they interact with technology, how technology shapes them, and how to design experiences that make their lives better.
So I changed my major to Symbolic Systems, a blend of computer science, psychology, philosophy, and linguistics. As I continued studying, I realized philosophy and linguistics didn’t resonate with me. Only psychology and computer science did. After more research, I discovered Human-Computer Interaction, which focuses on exactly what I’d always found fascinating. With this clarity, I explored my interests with openness: I pursued edtech research and published a paper at CHI, started startups, interned at startups and big tech, and built communities as a Notion Campus Leader, etc.
Looking back, I can connect the dots of everything I did and why I did it. All that is to say, the most valuable lesson I learned was to let curiosity guide you. Let it guide you with kindness, openness, and compassion. When I initially fought against my intuition, everything felt wrong. It’s a process of learning to develop your identity, feeling a bit of discomfort with changes, and embracing who you are. It’s tempting to follow your peers or meet other people’s expectations. But I’m realizing now that everyone lives a distinct life. You become most fulfilled when you leverage your own strengths and show yourself compassion. When you fully embrace yourself, that’s when you can build deep, meaningful connections with others.
We’re changing every day through new experiences. Stay curious and see where life guides you.
Information about Eleanor’s current studies/what she has been up to:
Pursuing M.S. in Computer Science (HCI) at Stanford University
B.S. in Computer Science (HCI) at Stanford University
Now TAing for CS 147L at Stanford
Interned as a Software Engineer Intern at Apple, TeachFX, Google
Published a paper at CHI
Notion Campus Leader
We hope Eleanor’s words will inspire our students to imagine their own future paths. Stay tuned for more stories and insights from our other alumni!
