Personal Information

In A Glance:

Name:

    Irene Elizabeth Cooperstein

Birth Date:

    October 22, 1984

Majors:

    Math and Computer Science

Home College:

    University of Houston, TX

Home Town:

    Big Stone Gap, VA

Interests Other Than Standard Girl-Geek Hobbies:

    Knitting, cooking, karate, piano, daydreaming

    Not a whole lot to say about me. I’ve been playing around with computers since I was a kid, so there’s definitely that element of loving computers in my decision to pursue a CS degree. I never would have guessed I’d want a math degree, though—that one kinda snuck up on me. I can still remember the bewildered look on my mom’s face when I told her… I was just as surprised as her. I spent my first two years of college at UVA-Wise, a tiny little local school. It was good for its size, though, and even though I didn’t exactly want to be there, I still had fun. My most recent year was spent at the University of Houston, where I hope to finish up my degrees in math and computer science.

 

    I have two siblings, both younger: a sister in the 12th grade and a brother in the 8th. My family lives in the town of Big Stone Gap(yes, you read that right) VA, which not surprisingly is too small to be on most maps. Living there went a long way towards building my appreciation for larger cities like Houston. Still, I like it there, and if there were some way to sneak in a NASA facility within driving distance without completely ruining the scenery, I’d do it.

 

    My end goal as a mathematician/ programmer is in fact to work for NASA or some other related company. Preferably I’d be an astronaut… However I’m informed that the competition is pretty stiff, so I’m prepared to settle for a more run-of-the-mill job. I’d still like to be involved in aerospace technology, though. I just don’t see anything interesting in writing business software all day, and games are nice but I’d rather spend my time writing something that will have a more concrete societal value. Guess I’m an idealist at heart, but the only thing I’d like better than seeing humans settle on another planet in my lifetime is to BE one of those humans myself.

 

    Okay, so maybe I DID have a lot to say about me. Hard to resist the urge to talk about oneself, eh? ;) But that’s enough for now, barring any future revisions.