Virtual learning has provided some students with opportunities to explore hobbies related to their passion. One of them is Aubin Lohier, a computer science major, who built his own PC and keyboard during the pandemic.
Lohier is vice chair of JHU Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)and head of social media and public relations for HopHacks. His advisor is Michael Schatz, Bloomberg Distinguished Associate Professor of Computer Science and Biology at Johns Hopkins University. Lohier expects to graduate with his bachelor of science in computer science this spring.
To learn more about Lohier, check out this brief Q & A.
Where are you from?
Both of my parents are originally from Haiti. Shortly after they immigrated to the United States, they moved to Queens in New York City where I was born.
When did you first discover the STEM field?
My father is a computer scientist. Growing up, he would always have random devices laying around that he was working on or fixing. I would see him fiddling with the devices and thought that what he was doing was pretty cool.
What are your research interests?
For the majority of my time in high school, I wanted to be an aerospace engineer who built rockets. I had plans to major or minor in computer science in college. During my senior year in high school, I thought that I could also become a physicist or pursue a math-based career and work my way into the space industry. It wasn’t until I spoke to my mentor who said, “You seem pretty sure about computer science; why don’t you start with that and see where it goes from there?” Still unsure, I had interest in majoring in mechanical engineering, but changed to computer science because of how dynamic and robust the field is. Computer science always felt like this rapidly changing field of study and I just wanted to be a part of that.
What are the summer plans?
In July, I am moving to Seattle, where I accepted a position with Facebook as a software engineer. While the job is remote, I would rather be in the area of where it is located and experience a different city altogether.
What advice do you have for incoming first year students?
I have two pieces of advice: Keep persevering and don’t stop trying.
Also, find a group or at least upper-class students who will mentor and support you. I remember feeling overwhelmed and behind during the first semester year at Hopkins. When I joined ACM during the following spring semester, I felt like I had some idea of what was going on.