Jonathan Wilkins

Name: Jonathan WilkinsJonathan outside of Wikersham, the Math Building

Hometown: Lancaster, PA

Anticipated graduation: December 2021

Major: Computer Science

Minor: Mathematics

Internships:

In the summer of 2019, I was an IT Consultant Intern for Zausner Foods Corp, located in New Holland, PA, where I assisted with setting up computers and fixing software issues, and I wrote an automated workflow for the HR team to easily record manager approvals for hiring new employees. In the summer of 2021, I was a Web Development Intern for Clipper Digital, located in Mountville, PA, where I worked with both front-end and back-end web frameworks to update existing features, as well as provide many quality-of-life changes for both customers and business administrators.

Research/Projects:

In my senior year at MU, I have been working on my Departmental Honors Thesis where I am trying to find an efficient algorithm for solving Nonogram puzzles.

Inspirations (for major, research, internship):

Ever since I was little, I’ve always loved solving problems in intuitive ways or finding better ways to do things. Since high school, I’ve enjoyed writing programs to solve different types of problems I find interesting, as well as writing web scripts to add small changes to websites that I would find fun or useful. This translated into majoring in Computer Science because I wanted to become better at what I love to do and what gives me passion to work hard.

Highlights (from courses/internship/research):

I always found the labs in MU’s Computer Science courses very compelling. This is especially the case in the Programming Languages and Artificial Intelligence courses where I used functional programming languages to write code that solved puzzles, did pattern matching, or manipulated lists in interesting ways.

Advice (for incoming freshman in your shoes):

  • Don’t be afraid to ask for help. There are plenty of people on campus that are more than willing to help, you just need to ask.
  • Have fun with your work. Not all assignments have to be just another thing you get out of the way so you can get your degree. Not only will you enjoy your college experience more, but you’ll find that it will be easier to understand and recall concepts if you frame them around positive experiences.

Aspirations (upon graduation):

After graduating I primarily want to work in the software development or webdevelopment fields, although I am open to pretty much anything in the field of computer science where I can apply my skills to solve problems or create better products for users.

Scholarships awarded while attending Millersville University

I am a two-time recipient of the Beth Ann Barry Memorial Scholarship in Computer Science.