Hello! My name is Sonali Joshi and I am a Sophomore studying Physics. I graduated from Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando, Florida in 2016. My favorite class has been Introduction to Numerical Computing with Dr. Harrington. It was a great class that gave many great exciting physics problems to solve. In the class we learned to code in Python which is one of the more enjoyable languages to code in. My favorite professor has been Dr. Szumlanski in Computer Science 1. He takes the time to make every topic interesting. He tells great stories while teaching and makes the ordinary topics you cover different and exciting. The things I love about the GEMS program are that it introduces you to amazing people who love their work, allows you to connect with many successful individuals during the networking events, and helps you with getting used to college life. The program really helped me my first year getting to know other students that were in similar classes and opening my mind to my potential after I graduate. In my free time I like to play video games, watch movies, read books, and hang out with my friends. My advice for freshman is to stay organized, make sure you keep track of your homework and classes, go to class, go to office hours, and make sure to make some time in the day for you to relax. It is really important to not fall behind on your schedule because that makes classes much harder.