With a Combined Major, Catu Berretta Thrives at the Intersection of Art and Computer Science
Thu 01.16.20 / Ysabelle Kempe
With a Combined Major, Catu Berretta Thrives at the Intersection of Art and Computer Science
Thu 01.16.20 / Ysabelle Kempe
Thu 01.16.20 / Ysabelle Kempe
Thu 01.16.20 / Ysabelle Kempe
With a Combined Major, Catu Berretta Thrives at the Intersection of Art and Computer Science
Thu 01.16.20 / Ysabelle Kempe
With a Combined Major, Catu Berretta Thrives at the Intersection of Art and Computer Science
Thu 01.16.20 / Ysabelle Kempe
Thu 01.16.20 / Ysabelle Kempe
Thu 01.16.20 / Ysabelle Kempe
While Berretta’s academic path may have evolved during her time at Northeastern, there is one part of her experience in Khoury College that has remained constant — the supportive community. “Especially with all the women in my major, we were constantly supporting each other,” she said. “I have never felt alone.”
Photo credit: Josephine Pettigrew
While Berretta’s academic path may have evolved during her time at Northeastern, there is one part of her experience in Khoury College that has remained constant — the supportive community. “Especially with all the women in my major, we were constantly supporting each other,” she said. “I have never felt alone.”
Photo credit: Josephine Pettigrew
While Berretta’s academic path may have evolved during her time at Northeastern, there is one part of her experience in Khoury College that has remained constant — the supportive community. “Especially with all the women in my major, we were constantly supporting each other,” she said. “I have never felt alone.”
Photo credit: Josephine Pettigrew
While Berretta’s academic path may have evolved during her time at Northeastern, there is one part of her experience in Khoury College that has remained constant — the supportive community. “Especially with all the women in my major, we were constantly supporting each other,” she said. “I have never felt alone.”
Photo credit: Josephine Pettigrew
As a college freshman, Catalina “Catu” Berretta never expected to academically pursue her art, although she has always been a passionate creator.
Over three years later, Berretta (BS ‘21, Computer Science and Design) has happily surprised herself. She has decided to combine her passions to pursue a field of study that satiates her artistic cravings as well as her fascination with front-end software engineering.
“When I was a freshman, I couldn’t even envision myself in this position because I didn’t know what I wanted,” Berretta says. She encourages incoming undergraduates to remember that “you will have time and you will have space to carve your own path.”
Berretta feels she has found her niche, but the journey hasn’t been easy, or straightforward. An international student from Uruguay, she wanted to ensure that she would have high prospects of being hired after college, in order to stay in the United States. Because she understood computer science is an emerging STEM field, she dove in headfirst, despite having “zero programming experience.”
“I really have a lot of respect for the [Khoury College] program, particularly the way that students are introduced to computer science through Racket,” Berretta continues. “As difficult as it was, I developed such a resilience — a resilience that I didn’t even know I had.”
This resilience was built through failure, Berretta explains. Sometimes, she worked for hours on an assignment, only to end the day with a stubbornly unsuccessful program. It was in these moments that Berretta allowed her vexation to fan the flames of her determination, rather than put them out. Berretta eventually realized that, despite the obstacles, she could always push through and come out the other side as a better programmer.
Berretta’s foundation courses, Fundamentals of Computer Science 1 and 2, became the ones she looks back on most fondly. The courses provide a strong basis for programming and serve as “great equalizers,” she says, that are especially valuable to a new programmer. Berretta also fell in love with Web Development (CS 4550), where she was challenged to understand how each and every piece of her programs worked together.
Berretta describes her decision to major in computer science as one of the best decisions she has ever made. She has persevered, even as the higher-level classes have become more and more complex. However, it wasn’t until more recently that she considered integrating her passion for design into her major.
Berretta did her first co-op in fall 2017 at Autodesk, a software company that creates services for fields such as architecture and the entertainment industry. She found it helpful it to learn how a large company, like Autodesk, operates. But she also became more in touch with what she wanted from her future career.
She enjoyed coding, but realized that she was more passionate about creating beautiful and efficient user experiences than working with back-end code and algorithms. After her Autodesk co-op, Berretta switched to the combined major program in computer science and design. Finally, she felt at home.
“That was life-changing. It felt like this huge weight was lifted off my shoulders,” Berretta said. “I can stay within the STEM field, and pursue the more traditionally creative aspect of programming.”
Berretta’s next co-op, which begins in spring 2020, is her dream job, she excitedly reports. She will be working at Ronik Design and Development, a Brooklyn-based digital creative agency. According to Berretta, the Ronik staff is open to the idea of her working in the interdisciplinary area between design and development.
While Berretta’s academic path may have evolved during her time at Northeastern, there is one part of her experience in Khoury College of Computer Sciences that has remained constant — the supportive community.
“I think that’s the thing that has always kept me going. A big part of it might have been my stubbornness, but much more than that, it was the people around me,” Berretta says. “Especially with all the women in my major, we were constantly supporting each other. I have never felt alone.”
As a college freshman, Catalina “Catu” Berretta never expected to academically pursue her art, although she has always been a passionate creator.
Over three years later, Berretta (BS ‘21, Computer Science and Design) has happily surprised herself. She has decided to combine her passions to pursue a field of study that satiates her artistic cravings as well as her fascination with front-end software engineering.
“When I was a freshman, I couldn’t even envision myself in this position because I didn’t know what I wanted,” Berretta says. She encourages incoming undergraduates to remember that “you will have time and you will have space to carve your own path.”
Berretta feels she has found her niche, but the journey hasn’t been easy, or straightforward. An international student from Uruguay, she wanted to ensure that she would have high prospects of being hired after college, in order to stay in the United States. Because she understood computer science is an emerging STEM field, she dove in headfirst, despite having “zero programming experience.”
“I really have a lot of respect for the [Khoury College] program, particularly the way that students are introduced to computer science through Racket,” Berretta continues. “As difficult as it was, I developed such a resilience — a resilience that I didn’t even know I had.”
This resilience was built through failure, Berretta explains. Sometimes, she worked for hours on an assignment, only to end the day with a stubbornly unsuccessful program. It was in these moments that Berretta allowed her vexation to fan the flames of her determination, rather than put them out. Berretta eventually realized that, despite the obstacles, she could always push through and come out the other side as a better programmer.
Berretta’s foundation courses, Fundamentals of Computer Science 1 and 2, became the ones she looks back on most fondly. The courses provide a strong basis for programming and serve as “great equalizers,” she says, that are especially valuable to a new programmer. Berretta also fell in love with Web Development (CS 4550), where she was challenged to understand how each and every piece of her programs worked together.
Berretta describes her decision to major in computer science as one of the best decisions she has ever made. She has persevered, even as the higher-level classes have become more and more complex. However, it wasn’t until more recently that she considered integrating her passion for design into her major.
Berretta did her first co-op in fall 2017 at Autodesk, a software company that creates services for fields such as architecture and the entertainment industry. She found it helpful it to learn how a large company, like Autodesk, operates. But she also became more in touch with what she wanted from her future career.
She enjoyed coding, but realized that she was more passionate about creating beautiful and efficient user experiences than working with back-end code and algorithms. After her Autodesk co-op, Berretta switched to the combined major program in computer science and design. Finally, she felt at home.
“That was life-changing. It felt like this huge weight was lifted off my shoulders,” Berretta said. “I can stay within the STEM field, and pursue the more traditionally creative aspect of programming.”
Berretta’s next co-op, which begins in spring 2020, is her dream job, she excitedly reports. She will be working at Ronik Design and Development, a Brooklyn-based digital creative agency. According to Berretta, the Ronik staff is open to the idea of her working in the interdisciplinary area between design and development.
While Berretta’s academic path may have evolved during her time at Northeastern, there is one part of her experience in Khoury College of Computer Sciences that has remained constant — the supportive community.
“I think that’s the thing that has always kept me going. A big part of it might have been my stubbornness, but much more than that, it was the people around me,” Berretta says. “Especially with all the women in my major, we were constantly supporting each other. I have never felt alone.”
As a college freshman, Catalina “Catu” Berretta never expected to academically pursue her art, although she has always been a passionate creator.
Over three years later, Berretta (BS ‘21, Computer Science and Design) has happily surprised herself. She has decided to combine her passions to pursue a field of study that satiates her artistic cravings as well as her fascination with front-end software engineering.
“When I was a freshman, I couldn’t even envision myself in this position because I didn’t know what I wanted,” Berretta says. She encourages incoming undergraduates to remember that “you will have time and you will have space to carve your own path.”
Berretta feels she has found her niche, but the journey hasn’t been easy, or straightforward. An international student from Uruguay, she wanted to ensure that she would have high prospects of being hired after college, in order to stay in the United States. Because she understood computer science is an emerging STEM field, she dove in headfirst, despite having “zero programming experience.”
“I really have a lot of respect for the [Khoury College] program, particularly the way that students are introduced to computer science through Racket,” Berretta continues. “As difficult as it was, I developed such a resilience — a resilience that I didn’t even know I had.”
This resilience was built through failure, Berretta explains. Sometimes, she worked for hours on an assignment, only to end the day with a stubbornly unsuccessful program. It was in these moments that Berretta allowed her vexation to fan the flames of her determination, rather than put them out. Berretta eventually realized that, despite the obstacles, she could always push through and come out the other side as a better programmer.
Berretta’s foundation courses, Fundamentals of Computer Science 1 and 2, became the ones she looks back on most fondly. The courses provide a strong basis for programming and serve as “great equalizers,” she says, that are especially valuable to a new programmer. Berretta also fell in love with Web Development (CS 4550), where she was challenged to understand how each and every piece of her programs worked together.
Berretta describes her decision to major in computer science as one of the best decisions she has ever made. She has persevered, even as the higher-level classes have become more and more complex. However, it wasn’t until more recently that she considered integrating her passion for design into her major.
Berretta did her first co-op in fall 2017 at Autodesk, a software company that creates services for fields such as architecture and the entertainment industry. She found it helpful it to learn how a large company, like Autodesk, operates. But she also became more in touch with what she wanted from her future career.
She enjoyed coding, but realized that she was more passionate about creating beautiful and efficient user experiences than working with back-end code and algorithms. After her Autodesk co-op, Berretta switched to the combined major program in computer science and design. Finally, she felt at home.
“That was life-changing. It felt like this huge weight was lifted off my shoulders,” Berretta said. “I can stay within the STEM field, and pursue the more traditionally creative aspect of programming.”
Berretta’s next co-op, which begins in spring 2020, is her dream job, she excitedly reports. She will be working at Ronik Design and Development, a Brooklyn-based digital creative agency. According to Berretta, the Ronik staff is open to the idea of her working in the interdisciplinary area between design and development.
While Berretta’s academic path may have evolved during her time at Northeastern, there is one part of her experience in Khoury College of Computer Sciences that has remained constant — the supportive community.
“I think that’s the thing that has always kept me going. A big part of it might have been my stubbornness, but much more than that, it was the people around me,” Berretta says. “Especially with all the women in my major, we were constantly supporting each other. I have never felt alone.”
As a college freshman, Catalina “Catu” Berretta never expected to academically pursue her art, although she has always been a passionate creator.
Over three years later, Berretta (BS ‘21, Computer Science and Design) has happily surprised herself. She has decided to combine her passions to pursue a field of study that satiates her artistic cravings as well as her fascination with front-end software engineering.
“When I was a freshman, I couldn’t even envision myself in this position because I didn’t know what I wanted,” Berretta says. She encourages incoming undergraduates to remember that “you will have time and you will have space to carve your own path.”
Berretta feels she has found her niche, but the journey hasn’t been easy, or straightforward. An international student from Uruguay, she wanted to ensure that she would have high prospects of being hired after college, in order to stay in the United States. Because she understood computer science is an emerging STEM field, she dove in headfirst, despite having “zero programming experience.”
“I really have a lot of respect for the [Khoury College] program, particularly the way that students are introduced to computer science through Racket,” Berretta continues. “As difficult as it was, I developed such a resilience — a resilience that I didn’t even know I had.”
This resilience was built through failure, Berretta explains. Sometimes, she worked for hours on an assignment, only to end the day with a stubbornly unsuccessful program. It was in these moments that Berretta allowed her vexation to fan the flames of her determination, rather than put them out. Berretta eventually realized that, despite the obstacles, she could always push through and come out the other side as a better programmer.
Berretta’s foundation courses, Fundamentals of Computer Science 1 and 2, became the ones she looks back on most fondly. The courses provide a strong basis for programming and serve as “great equalizers,” she says, that are especially valuable to a new programmer. Berretta also fell in love with Web Development (CS 4550), where she was challenged to understand how each and every piece of her programs worked together.
Berretta describes her decision to major in computer science as one of the best decisions she has ever made. She has persevered, even as the higher-level classes have become more and more complex. However, it wasn’t until more recently that she considered integrating her passion for design into her major.
Berretta did her first co-op in fall 2017 at Autodesk, a software company that creates services for fields such as architecture and the entertainment industry. She found it helpful it to learn how a large company, like Autodesk, operates. But she also became more in touch with what she wanted from her future career.
She enjoyed coding, but realized that she was more passionate about creating beautiful and efficient user experiences than working with back-end code and algorithms. After her Autodesk co-op, Berretta switched to the combined major program in computer science and design. Finally, she felt at home.
“That was life-changing. It felt like this huge weight was lifted off my shoulders,” Berretta said. “I can stay within the STEM field, and pursue the more traditionally creative aspect of programming.”
Berretta’s next co-op, which begins in spring 2020, is her dream job, she excitedly reports. She will be working at Ronik Design and Development, a Brooklyn-based digital creative agency. According to Berretta, the Ronik staff is open to the idea of her working in the interdisciplinary area between design and development.
While Berretta’s academic path may have evolved during her time at Northeastern, there is one part of her experience in Khoury College of Computer Sciences that has remained constant — the supportive community.
“I think that’s the thing that has always kept me going. A big part of it might have been my stubbornness, but much more than that, it was the people around me,” Berretta says. “Especially with all the women in my major, we were constantly supporting each other. I have never felt alone.”