A majority of students desire to make a difference in their chosen field after they leave a university. The world is suddenly larger than your parents' home and the town in which you reside. It is the butterfly effect applied in a more literal context. By the time we graduate college, with the ink barely dried on our diplomas, we are ready to flutter our delicate wings and create a small ripple in a gigantic ocean. We all hope that our ripple will turn into a tidal wave, ensuring that our legacies are preserved for posterity. With the advent of advanced technology, we are more cognizant of the world's imperfection than in previous decades. News of tragedies and tales of immense poverty reach us faster than ever before. For better or worse, we now have access to the global condition around the clock. We are exposed to the ills that plague our world on a daily basis, and my generation is motivated to cure them. Some will become doctors, driven to obliterate the ailments that prey on humankind. Others will devote their lives to a spiritual kind of remedy, choosing to cure the soul rather than the body. A few pick a path not often associated with these before-mentioned benevolences, such as the field of computer science.

A degree in computer science will provide you with the skills and knowledge necessary to work on numerous research teams, even those that concentrate on the field of medicine. The medical field has advanced in leaps and bounds over the past decades, but there are more than a few diseases still ravaging families and communities all over the world. In regards to the elderly, participating on a medical research team will allow you to improve their livelihoods. On a personal level, my great-grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and passed away soon afterward. Her diagnosis puts my mother at a significant risk to contact the devastating disease as well. It gives me a personal desire to discover ways to help those who suffer from dementia and their devastated families. After graduation, you will have experience databasing and analyzing evidence. Those capabilities will allow you to participate on a medical research team that focuses on not only reducing the risk for dementia but also identifying the cause, slowing down the progression of the disease and eventually preventing it altogether.

Once you graduate, you are also qualified to participate in robotics research. The advances that private companies are making in the field of robotics is fascinating. There is an application of robotic technology that can make a tremendous difference in many peoples’ lives. Service dogs are the assistant of choice to those with disabilities. However, with the advent of advanced technology, an alternative has emerged. While good-tempered pups have not failed in their duties to their partners, it takes a minimum of one year to custom train a dog to their owner’s needs. For those in need of a service animal, this can be an agonizing wait. However, while they lie in limbo for a sentient companion, a friendly robot programmed to their specific needs can fill in the gaps until a service dog completes his training. This “service bot” can assist their partner with a variety of medical tasks such as medication reminders, making sure their partner is in compliance with a doctor’s orders, help remind their partner about appointments, to even sensing that the human is suffering from a seizure. It can call an ambulance if their partner has fallen unconscious or succumbed to a diabetic emergency, as well as engage in a facsimile of human conversation. The “service bot” idea is a groundbreaking advancement for those with disabilities. It can be an alternative until a proper service animal can be trained, or provide a replacement for a service dog altogether. The possibilities for these robots dedicated to helping those with disabilities and disadvantages is thrilling.

A degree in computer science will give you ample opportunities, from service-related fields to the typical scientific employment. With analysis and databasing skills, you can assist medical research teams in their pursuit of disease eradication. With a degree in computer science and a passion for helping others, you can help usher in a new era. Many underestimate a computer scientist's ability to leave a mark on society, but I believe it is the go-to degree for those with an eager mind and a compassionate heart.