Sophia Chung: Fighting Stereotypes One Day At A Time

My first name reflects my family's unparalleled love for the actress, Natalie Wood. 

My last name is German and it means "pig farmer" in English, so I'm sure you're extremely jealous. 

My sister and I share the middle name "Kyong", pronounced key-young in Korean. it means bright, shining star. It is the first name of my mother and her six sisters.

I am currently a 3rd year undergraduate at University of California, Davis majoring in Computer Engineering and minoring in Technology Management. 

Aside from my programming experience, my involvement with the campus community in Davis has allowed me to express my creative mindset in a variety of settings. I belong to both a social sorority Delta Gamma on campus as well as an academic club (Society of Women Engineers). 

Because of this, I communicate with a wide spectrum of individuals. The differences between these two groups have developed my perspective on the relationship between technology and customers. Many technical companies today are filled with engineers who create products that reflect their own interests, rather than the interests of the public. I believe that I can create the solutions to problems that satisfy public interest. 

My blog, swopeswope, is about my life mixed technology. I know that’s broad but I don’t want to narrow it down since tech is all over now-a-days. I spend almost 75% of my time exploring the web that but 9 times out of 12, I’m checking out articles on sites like TechCrunch, Inc., and AllThingsD. I also write articles for the site, HackCollege. 

I’ve always loved art. I draw, paint and sketch on my bamboo tablet when I have free time. My pictures communicate my ideas — my perspective of the world. I grew up believing such ideas were unrealistic, sometimes even immature. But maybe that’s what people said about laptops, bluetooth speakers, and touch screens. The only way to make an idea a reality is to dream in a world without bounds; a world of information & technology.