Norma Kleinbriel...
... is a Saginaw resident who chose SVSU because it’s local, affordable and convenient.
“I love programming – I could sit and do it for days, but I chose to do a minor in general business as well, because I like some parts of the management side too. For example, when I worked as a Network Analyst and Support Specialist at an area bank, I discovered that computers were my passion because I worked in other areas of the financial institution as well.”
“The CSIS program is very well structured with a solid foundation in the basics of software and computer design. Now, I’m taking upper division classes and have a much better understanding of why certain elements were included at the freshman level.”
“For example, the class I took in Business Law with Professor David Potts was very applicable to my work in computer science. We learned about all of the laws that relate to copyright, which is very important for software designers. Before this class I would never have thought about how to protect yourself while designing a program, which is essentially your own intellectual property and protected under copyright laws.”
“SVSU’s CSIS department teaches you how to structure your thinking so that when you’re presented with a large problem, you know how to break it down into components and solve each smaller problem step by step.”
“The projects you work on are a mix of collaborative work and individual projects, which is good because by its very nature, Computer Science requires you to work collaboratively with others. Even on individual projects, there will come a time when you want to ask questions of other students. At SVSU, everyone feels like they can ask questions of each other.”
“The professors are very approachable. They are concerned that students have everything they need to do well, and make themselves available for questions. They are willing to get to know you as a student.”
Norma is currently taking Professor Bidgoli’s class on databases, which she describes as, “very demanding. He expects a lot from you, but the class is fascinating. We’re learning about everything you need to know about the design and background of the data, before you even begin collecting it. We’re also learning how to eliminate redundancies in a database that would make it inefficient.”