Vanessa Wong

Vanessa Wong, a second year student pursuing a degree in Information Systems, a joint major offered by the School of Computing Science and the Faculty of Business, is spent the summer of 2007 putting into practice what she has learned in the classroom in her first co-operative education term. Vanessa is worked for Artstarts, a company that collaborates with schools across British Columbia to bring acclaimed artists to mentor students and foster a greater appreciation of the arts. Her role included developing a database from scratch which will be accessible through the company’s website and permit the public to view works of art created by artists and their students.

Vanessa started her undergraduate career through SFU Surrey’s TechOne cohort program and subsequently transferred into the School of Computing Science. Not really being sure what to major in, Vanessa credits the interdisciplinary nature of the TechOne program in helping her choose her present path. Vanessa chose to attend the Surrey campus not only because it was easily accessible, but because she felt that the campus’s smaller student community would make for an easier transition from high school to university. She sites the generally smaller classroom sizes which permit more one-on-one time with instructors as a real advantage of the Surrey campus. Although she does not have a set career in mind yet, Vanessa is keenly interested in working in the areas of web design and database development. Whatever career path Vanessa ultimately decides upon, her computer science skills will serve her well.

Outside of school, Vanessa enjoys snowboarding and recently started playing ice hockey.