The challenges of adjusting to college life during the first year are already overwhelming — navigating the process of majoring in tech fields across other colleges in the consortium often makes them that much more stressful.
Pitzer Connect made history this semester by debuting as Pitzer College’s first technology club with the mission of bringing together everyone with any level of interest and experience in tech-related fields.
On Friday, Nov. 7, Pitzer Connect hosted their first event in Skandera Hall, targeted at current Pitzer first-year students who are interested in studying computer science and data science. Since Pitzer does not directly offer these programs, many students who choose to study those fields often do so through other 5C campuses, such as Harvey Mudd College and Claremont McKenna College.
The space was founded by five students majoring off-campus in computer science or data science, who now make up the club’s executive team: President Omar Mnfy PZ ’27, Vice President Frederica Aboagye PZ ’28, Cephas Asamoah PZ ’28, Yaw Acquah PZ ’28 and Amen Ikamba PZ ’27.
Mnfy described how, when he and his fellow executive team members decided to major in tech-related fields at the other campuses, they initially struggled to understand how to navigate that process.
“I’m a junior right now, and I’m studying computer science at Harvey Mudd, and there is some nuance to the process, especially as a non-Harvey Mudd student,” Mnfy said. “When I was a freshman, I didn’t know much about the process, and much of it seemed a bit complicated for me.”
This year, pre-registration for spring semester classes at the consortium began on Nov. 11. The founders decided to host this event the week before, providing prospective computer science and data science students with pre-emptive peer guidance on how to organize their course schedules to ensure future success.
To explain the process, the executive team compiled slides that break everything down into easy-to-follow steps so first-year students in attendance could understand what it will be like for them and how they can strategically plan their course loads. A variety of Pitzer students majoring off-campus also attended, sharing their experiences and answering any questions.
“[Prospective computer science and data science majors] shouldn’t be wondering what they should do or feel confused about what they are doing,” Asamoah said. “With Pitzer Connect, we serve as a guide to them … teaching them what decisions to make, what classes to take and what fields are available to them.”
In addition to providing guidance to prospective computer science and data science majors, the club’s leaders are aiming to build a space where people interested in various aspects of working in the technology field could connect with each other. This includes students who may not have much knowledge of technological fields, but have a lot of curiosity or passion forgetting more involved.
“I’m just so glad there’s a club like this where people are able to share the great ideas that they have without having to [think] ‘I need [knowledge in] a specific field’ or ‘I need a specific skill to actually achieve this,’” Aboagye said. “And then they are able to come here and feel like, ‘oh, even though I don’t have a tech background, I have an idea that my tech friend or my tech buddy can implement for the future.’”
According to the executive team, they chose to name the space “Pitzer Connect” to reflect this collaborative mission.
“It’s not called ‘Pitzer Tech Club,’” Mnfy said. “It’s not called ‘Tech Nerds’ or whatever. It’s not called ‘Coding.’ It’s ‘Connect.’ And the reason is [because] it’s to connect folks, whether they have a tech background [or] no tech background … just people who are interested [in tech], whether that be for careers, ideas, building projects or just [being in] a tech community.”
The executive team’s efforts have already made a demonstrable impact on members of the Pitzer student body. Attendee Isalena Amador PZ ’29 explained how she was always interested in majoring in computer science but was unsure about how to do so as a Pitzer student. As a result, she initially felt discouraged in pursuing this aspiration.
“Coming to Pitzer, I thought that I wouldn’t be able to pursue [computer science] anymore, or I knew there was a possibility, but I wasn’t sure how I’d be able to do it,” Amador said. “And so I’ve been taking more classes in other fields that I have an interest in. So I came [to this event] just to see what the possibilities of me being able to pursue that passion would be.”
Despite this initial setback, Amador described how hearing the experiences of students currently majoring in the field has given her confidence that she can follow in their footsteps.
“The courses I have to take, [like] calculus, and linear algebra and all these other classes actually sound fun to me,” Amador said. “I think if I didn’t come to this [event], I’d be like, ‘oh, I have to take all these math courses.’ But I think just seeing the community here makes me very enthusiastic to get back into STEM and [take] math classes.”
Having already made their mark in the Pitzer community, the Pitzer Connect executive team is planning ahead for the future.
“I’m just super excited to see where the club is going,” Aboagye said. “I really, really hope that we’re able to get where we want to be … [that] Pitzer Connect becomes the next big thing here at the 5Cs.”
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