The statement frequently attributed to Bill Gates, “A computer is like a violin. You can imagine it making beautiful music, but you have to learn how to play it,” highlights a central feature of computer science. The field contains deep creative and human potential, but that potential is realized only through disciplined study, practice, and sustained effort.

The field of computer science offers a unique blend of imagination and logic that peers into the tapestry of the technology that shapes daily life, culture, politics, and the global economy, while providing the computer science graduate a wide array of creative, stable, and meaningful career paths. Computer science skills are in high demand across almost every industry, and developing these skills at Sattler provides a solid foundation for using them within a life of service in the kingdom of God.

Abbot, a CS junior at Sattler College, represents an example of the unique life paths that studying CS can lead you on. In Kampala, Uganda, where he began his journey, sponsored academic pursuits are paramount to success. From age eleven through high school and A levels, Abbot dedicated himself to academic achievement as a means of providing for his education and future. His diligent study led Abbot to become a recipient of a government scholarship that he supplemented by attending an affordable school outside the city. Academic excellence became his main objective of these years and manifested itself through his intense study of chemistry, physics, and math, and developing an interest in mechanical engineering. However, his single-minded focus on academic goals shifted when Abbot was drawn to a church in Kampala. Here, he realized his desire to grow in discipleship and began to prioritize this alongside education. Through this searching, he discovered Sattler College, and after being awarded the William Carey Scholarship, a prestigious scholarship offered to one international student, he moved to Boston and entered the computer science major. Since then, through a combination of preparation, hard work, and connections, he secured an internship at Google and spent last summer working in their California offices. He is now completing his junior year at Sattler while continuing to be discipled by a local church here in Boston, which has connections with his original church in Uganda.

Abbot discussed his experience with me of transitioning from a country school in Uganda to the computer science program at Sattler and then to an internship with one of the largest companies in the world. His journey can be defined by several key elements, including a clear vision. Abbot’s vision has helped him to avoid the trajectory he has observed of other CS students who may aspire to be admitted into schools like MIT or Harvard or land high-profile internships. He has seen, these students drop out if they lack the motivation and purpose required to drive and direct their studies and career.

At Sattler College, even as the CS major sharpens critical thinking through rigorous coursework, students’ hearts and minds are being formed in a distinctively holistic way that guides their future path in computer science. Sattler’s core classes include Biblical languages and humanities classes that guide CS students in placing their analytical and technical skills into the context of a broken world. Abbot explained how these classes help define and shape how you will use your major. For him, “Concentration of studies moved from pure science and research to thinking about how these skills will be beneficial to the kingdom of God and the world.” The developing CS major’s mind benefits from Sattler’s humanities classes by gaining an ethical basis to address complex issues such as algorithmic manipulation, technology accessibility, and data privacy that arise in today’s digital environment. Supplementing CS study with Sattler’s core classes prepares them to enter this environment equipped with a Biblical foundation to ground and inspire the focus of their careers.

Another element that defines Abbot’s experience is versatility. While Sattler’s computer science classes helped provide Abbot with the foundation and advanced skills needed to work effectively at Google, he also reflected on the way that working in computer science requires a certain extracurricular versatility, or combination of the creative, social, and technical spheres. In addition to a strong portfolio of academic records, Abbot focused on building a network of people and learning to solve problems, which enabled him to showcase his creative computer science skills and build valuable personal connections.

Finally, a key element that Abbot has emphasized is the importance of discipline. Although working in computer science awakens the analytical and creative aspects of the brain through exposure to solving intricate and diverse problems, it requires commitment and determination. Both studying at Sattler and his involvement in the church have been instrumental in helping Abbot define the “why” that has kept him motivated. His commitment to following Christ continually shapes Abbot’s discipline. In addition to discipleship, routines of focus help to form this discipline into a lifestyle.

Ultimately, although requiring discipline, Abbot has described computer science as a rewarding, exhilarating, ever-developing field to work in.

“Computer science is the future… The future is determined by innovation and new things that are constantly coming out. Any area of computer science is needed and very relevant.”

Inspired? You could be helping build Christ’s kingdom through a Computer Science degree too! Apply here.