Women Who Reign: Myra Yujia Deng

“You can’t ever reach perfection, but you can believe in an asymptote toward which you are ceaselessly striving.” -Paul Kalanithi
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Tell us about yourself along with a fun fact!
I’m originally from the suburbs of DC, and am currently a sophomore studying computer science at Columbia University. I always find myself slightly surprised (but mostly grateful) that I am where I am today. Entering freshman year, I had no prior knowledge of CS and a tenuous grasp at best of what I wanted to do with my life. At some point during my first CS course however, I realized that the practice of coding represents so much more than the code itself: it embodies a mindset that thrives off intellectual creativity and stubborn perseverance, a mindset that continually excites me and has gradually become my own. Since my freshman year, I’ve applied my computer science knowledge to graph theory research, joined Columbia ADI Labs where I worked with three other students on a web-app, and most recently worked on Columbia Girls Who Code’s teaching team. This summer, I’ll be working in California (west coast, best coast?) on a software engineering project, and I’m excited to learn more about what’s out there! A fun fact about me is that I’ve played piano since I was 4 years old, so classical music will always hold a special place in my heart.