Short Feature with Men's Golf Junior Patrick Tan
Junior Patrick Tan answers a few questions about student life at Carnegie Mellon, what he's done to set up his career post graduation and what he's excited for during spring semester.
1. What do you enjoy about campus life? Why do you get involved in things outside of men's golf?
Campus life at CMU is very exciting just because of how small our campus is. I constantly bump into close friends and people I know and I'm always meeting new people every semester. I'm also part of a fraternity here on campus, Pi Kappa Alpha, where I get to participate in IM sports and philanthropic events with my closest friends.
2. Describe your internships and what you've learned from them.
I'm currently doing a part-time internship for a CMU startup named ComYoot. I am an on-campus Marketing Representative, tasked with reaching out to club presidents and other organizations to spread the word about the company and encourage people to sign up and use the app. On top of that, I'm also in charge of hanging up posters and making social media posts so students on campus are more exposed to the company.
3. What are you excited about for this year?
I'm excited about the spring season for men's golf! We had such a tremendous season in the fall this year. So many of the freshmen are contributing to the team and I'm excited to see how we do once springtime rolls around.
4. Why did you select your course of study – what class are you looking forward to most this year?
I'm a business major concentrating in marketing and business technology, minoring in media design through IDeATe. I chose to minor in media design because of my interest in user experience design, which involves creating a seamless and usable experience for users when using a digital product. I look forward to taking Information Design next semester. Information Design is just another component of user experience design as a whole, which involves what content to include and how to prioritize and showcase this content.
5. What class has been recommended by your teammates or friends as a MUST TAKE class at CMU? Or what would you recommended to others?
Usually, my friends would not encourage me or anyone else to take this course, but 15-112: Fundamentals of Programming is a course I highly recommend students taking. The course does involve a lot of work, but out of all the courses I've taken here at CMU, I have learned the most from 15-112. If you have any interest in coding, take this course!
6. When not golfing or studying, what do you enjoy doing?
I love going to hockey games when I'm not golfing or studying. Coming from Canada, hockey is a big part of my life and I'm constantly following games, so it's always exciting to go to a live game at a stadium. My favorite team is the Philadelphia Flyers, a very unpopular choice in the city of Pittsburgh, but I love to see them win. Go Flyers!