Eric Y. Lai

  Hello, my name is Eric Lai. I’m currently studying at Stevens Institute of Technology towards a B.S in Computer Science and a Minor in Pure & Applied Mathematics. I am particularly interested in theory and systems programming, but I’ll generally enjoy learning about anything. I’ve been fortunate enough to intern with a couple companies, allowing me to develop my skills under some really talented engineers. I plan to continue exploring the different sectors of industry and hope to make meaningful contributions wherever I end up.

Why Computer Science?

  After reading several of my peers’ personal statements about their aspired fields of study, I realized I lacked one thing that they all seemingly had in common; I never had an eye-opening “Eureka!” moment that inspired me to pursue Computer Science. It would be ingenuine of me to say that I did and honestly, I’m not entirely sure if that really was the case for everyone else around me. My path towards CS has mostly been a slow progression of discovering my interests, with a bit of Life’s randomness sprinkled in. From a young age, I was aware that my strengths lay in maths and sciences, so I knew I was probably going to end up in something STEM-related. In junior year of high school, I spontaneously replaced my lunch period with an AP Computer Science course whose prerequisites I had not even fulfilled. For anyone else, I probably would’ve advised against this type of impulsive decision but luckily it worked out for me. One thing led to another and I joined a robotics team, attended a couple hackathons, and started pursuing a Computer Science degree. I’m currently in my fourth year out of a five year cooperative education program and I’m loving everything I’m learning. I find that I thrive on creative problem solving. CS, therefore, was a fitting outlet to exercise my problem solving skills while making the most out of my affinity for math and science. Sometimes a family member or friend will raise the point that I might’ve liked another STEM field just as much as I do CS. They might be right; regardless, it does not matter to me at this point because I’m enjoying my major too much to switch.