Dear Diana,
 
Many years ago, I was in your position. I was touring colleges and researching institutions that I felt would be a good fit for me. I eventually applied to several top ranked schools and was accepted by many fine institutions, including Brandeis. I am now a member of the Computer Science Department at Brandeis, celebrating my 30th year on the faculty.
 
I chose Brandeis for a number of reasons. It was a small, preeminent liberal arts college and was also a leading research university. What I wanted more than anything was to belong to a community of scholars who were passionately devoted to pushing the boundaries of knowledge and using those insights to make the world a better place. That's exactly what I found when I arrived on our beautiful campus!
 
I'm happy to say that Brandeis is still the small, preeminent liberal arts college and leading research university that I remember from the very first time I visited campus. Computer science is an especially exciting and rewarding field to pursue these days. Every few months, a new technological innovation is introduced that fundamentally changes the way we view computation and its effect on society. This not only opens up new areas of research, it also refreshes our curriculum and stimulates the introduction of new courses.
 
Brandeis students are bright and very often committed to using their knowledge and skills to make a difference in the world. In computer science, we see this in the projects our students complete for classes and independent studies. Just this week I've been talking to two students who are developing an app that could give a voice to residents at homeless shelters through blog entries and other creative work. In the Justice Brandeis Semester (JBS) program I taught last summer, one group of students created a voice-enabled mobile app to allow students to post and purchase items from their fellow students on campus (a local eBay, so to speak). Another group created an alarm clock app that you can talk to (and that will text your friends for help if you don't wake up in time)! This summer, I will teach a JBS in which we’ll explore the effect of social media on social movements and learn how to build social media apps to support social change. 
 
Over the past 30 years, I've had the honor and privilege of teaching several hundred Brandeis students, many of whom have made a major positive impact on the world. One of my students from the ’80s was Adam Cheyer, who co-founded Siri. Cheyer pioneered a revolutionary new approach to using our phones to interact with the Internet. He returned to Brandeis to talk to my class last year about his new ventures, which are even more amazing. More recently, a trio of Brandeis computer science students started a new company, youvisit.com, to provide virtual tours of college campuses. They also came to campus to discuss their new Virtual Reality Oculus Rift campus tour and gave us all live demos of their cutting-edge technology.
 
You may very well have the wonderful problem of being accepted to several great schools. This means you also have the stressful challenge of deciding which one to attend. Brandeis would be a great choice for you if you are looking for a school where students take an active role in their education while also being engaged members of their community. Brandeis is also a great choice if you have a strong desire to use the latest tools and technology to make the world a better place, or if you just have a love for all things digital. As a longtime faculty member at Brandeis, I feel honored and privileged to have classes filled with bright, energetic and passionate students, and I look forward to adding you to that group.
 
Best wishes,
 
Dr. Timothy J. Hickey
Professor of Computer Science 


This email was sent to dianaaudrey@gmail.com by Dr. Timothy J. Hickey.
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