Yulong Song

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Electronic Information Engineering from Dalian Neusoft University, I decided to be a IT project manager. Considering there is the most advanced information technology in the United States, I chose to study abroad. I believed that I wouldn’t only learn advanced information technology but also achieve an opportunity at George Mason University to collaborate and share ideas with other people who come from different cultural backgrounds. Nowadays, we are under the influence of globalization. It requires people who do work related to information technology to hold a global perspective. Consequently, they could efficiently and effectively enhance the quality of information technology products for people around the world.

As an undergraduate, I studied some programming languages, like C, C++, Java, SQL and Android. Additionally, I learned about data structures and algorithms. Although I also took hardware development related courses before, I prefer software development. Among all of this programming languages that I learned before, what I like most are SQL and Android. Android generally is used to develop application programs in mobile terminals. It is based on the java and the Android framework which provides a friendly development platform for software developers. I like Android, because through it, I can develop application programs based on my ideas and directly use them in my mobile terminal. Perhaps, the most obvious attributes of software design are that it turns idea into reality, it takes abstract thoughts and inspiration and makes something concrete. Therefore, countless people get lost in it and be absorbed by it. SQL also is my favorite. Different with Android, SQL is designed to manage relational database manage system. You can image database as an electronic file cabinet. Generally, customers’ account number and password should be saved in there. SQL could help us to manage these files which preserved in the file cabinet. Of course, we can use database to save other information. It diversifies the software design. In the process of study software development, I gradually felt the joy of software project development. It drives me to further study software project development.

But a person’s strength is ultimately limited, we unavoidable need to cooperate with others. Especially for software development project, team work is priority among priorities. When I studied software development courses, I got some chances to do group projects. Different with personal project, besides professional skills, other skill is also indispensable. Due to lack experiences, when I first time proceed group project, the project was proceeding very slowly. Eventually, the task was barely completed. But that experience did not make me lose confidence. Instead, I was motivated. I started to summarize the experience of failure and corrected my fault in next work. I learned how to set clear goals, how to make time schedule, and how to communicate with others. And, I gradually try to lead the team and manage the project. It is a very valuable experience for me. It provided me a whole new perspective of software design. I realized software design is a process to combine different people’s technology to implement an idea. In this process patience and communication is necessary. And from that time, I changed my mind and discovered what I really love. Compare with study one specific programming language or information technology, I would like to design a project and implement it. And, I like to communicate with people and manage the project. Therefore, I decided to study how to manage a successful project. And eventually, I chose George Mason University to obtain a master’s degree in Applied Information Technology.

I am now studying at INTO George Mason University in the Accelerated Pathway Program. I am studying Algorithms and Data Structures Essentials with professor Charles Snow and Database Management Systems with professor Ioulia Rytikova. Different with undergraduate courses, graduate courses are more challenging. Although, I have learned Algorithms and Data Structures during my undergraduate program, I still gained a lot of new knowledge in professor Snow’s course. His classes are not only limited to studying specific programming concept but applying these concepts in practice. And the study of Database Management Systems is also quite different than what I learned in my undergraduate program. Instead of introducing one specific database langue, like SQL, Professor Rytikova’s class also teaches the basic structures of  Database Management Systems and how to design a database. The Accelerated Pathway Program at INTO Mason provided me with the tools to think critically, how to cope with people who from different culture, how to adapt American academic environment, and how to further enhance my research skills. All of these skills will be useful in my future study.

In the future, I want to study IT management in the federal sector which is a concentration of applied information technology. I believe George Mason University can provide me with abundant resources which allow me to become a successful project manager. I hope you will find my qualifications, experiences, and interests suited to your program.

I look forward to hearing from you soon and thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

 

Yulong Song