Cate W.
Class of 2013
Ask Cate a Question!Read my blog: The Not So Confidential Confessions of Cate—Cate W.
Hometown: Minneapolis, MN
Majors: Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Mathematics
Current residence: Off-campus
Past residence: Homewood Apartments, Building A—Check out my Cribs video
Campus involvement: AICHE, ChemE Car, Student Admissions Advisory Board
Why I chose Johns Hopkins: I chose Hopkins because I wanted to pursue a degree in biological engineering. Hopkins' Chemical Engineering program offers a concentration in cellular/molecular engineering, which is exactly what I want to do. Now that I am actually Hopkins, I am happy that I made the choice to attend for so many reasons, in particular because of the opportunity I have had to explore so many fields outside of my major while still pursuing an engineering degree.
Favorite class: My favorite class this semester is Complex Analysis. Although not required for my engineering degree, I am taking it as a math elective. It focuses on how we define calculus for complex valued functions. I guess I've always seen complex numbers as daunting, but I had so much fun in my previous calculus courses; I figured I would just have to take more!
Favorite place on Homewood campus: My favorite place on Homewood campus would have to be the patio outside the library. Not only is it a good place to study outside, but also it is very close to Café Q, which is great for my coffee addiction. I spend a lot of time out there during the warm months studying.
The biggest difference between high school and Johns Hopkins that I've experienced: The difference in workload between high school and college is immense. This is not to say that Hopkins is grueling. My classes really challenge me and push me to the edge of my intellectual abilities, but it is allowed me to grow so much as both a student and person. I think I learn more in a day at Hopkins than a month at my high school.
What I want to do with my major: I hope to continue onto graduate school after Hopkins. At the moment, I am leaning heavily towards pursuing a PhD in pure mathematics, but a huge part of me wants to find a way to integrate my love for higher level math and engineering into one. I love school so much that I figured why would I want to stop after only four years? I love teaching, especially math, so I could definitely see myself becoming a professor one day.
Three unusual things about myself:
- I have really long fingers and toes.
- I can differentiate different colors of M&Ms by their taste.
- I have dyed my hair countless times, so, no, my hair isn't really black.
