CS371p Spring 2021: Marcus Mao

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Fairview, Texas. It’s a small town near Allen, which is a small town near Dallas. It’s a nice peaceful suburb full of old retirees.

What high school did you attend?

I attended Lovejoy High School, in Lucas. I guess it wasn’t the worst.

What was your favorite extracurricular activity in high school?

I really enjoyed Quiz Bowl, which was a game-show style trivia competition with buzzers. It was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, trivia doesn’t pay the bills, so I am now doing computer science.

Why did you come to UT?

It was the only place I got into, so I didn’t have much choice. That being said, I wanted to stay in Texas and UT has a good computer science program.

Why are you majoring in CS?

As I mentioned before, it pays the bills. Aside from that, though, I do find solving programming problems pretty interesting, and I’m good at it.

Why are you in this class?

I took SWE and liked how the class was structured, and I wanted to learn more about C++ before I graduate, so this class fit perfectly.

What are your expectations of this class?

As I said in the last question, I’m hoping to learn more about C++. Aside from that, I don’t have any particular expectations.

How much C++ do you already know?

I know very little C++, which is why I’m in this class. I have technically used it before, but I don’t remember very much at all.