The creativity of computer science
Rising Mount Holyoke College senior Amelia Henzel is spending her summer creating different interactive video programs for students to enjoy in the computer science hallway on the second floor of Clapp Laboratory.
Amelia Henzel ’26, from Gig Harbor, Washington, is spending this summer working with Professor of Computer Science Audrey St. John to create different interactive video programs for students to enjoy in the computer science hallway on the second floor of Clapp Laboratory at Mount Holyoke College.
“It’s meant as a way for computer science majors and non-computer science majors who might be interested to just take a break from what they are doing for a few minutes, interact with the display and have a fun time and learn a little bit more about computer science,” Henzel said.
She hopes that creating these different programs will help students interact with one another outside of the classroom. “We wanted to foster a community, since there isn’t a common room for students to meet [in the department],” Henzel shared. “So, this is our way of getting students talking to each other and spending time together outside of class.”
Additionally, Henzel feels that this is a fun way to remind people of how many different things you can do with computer science. “It introduces the breadth that computer science has to offer,” she said.
Henzel also hopes that it may inspire more people to get interested in computer science. “There is so much in computer science that hasn’t been done, and there are so many complex problems that we need creative people from different backgrounds to help us tackle,” she said. “So I would really encourage students to check it out, because they might learn something that they like and want to keep pursuing.”
Henzel has enjoyed the opportunity to explore her computer science skills in such a creative way. She had previously taken an Algorithms course with St. John, and when she heard about this project from her professor, she was interested immediately.
“It sounded so exciting because one thing I love [about computer science] is all the creative applications that it has, and I love to develop fun, creative programs,” Henzel said. “This was an opportunity to do just that.”
She believes that through participating in this project, she has learned a variety of new algorithms, learned more about computer vision and improved her computer science skills. “I really learned how to start with an idea, research it and then break that into steps and turn it into something actually doable and buildable,” Henzel said.
This project has also allowed Henzel to see some of the applications of the topics she was learning about in class. “I really enjoy being able to make things and immediately see what the result is,” she said.
At the beginning of the academic year, Henzel’s different programs will be on display throughout the computer science hallway in Clapp. She will also have some of her work at the academic fair for incoming first-year students on Aug. 29.
