[Y HMC?] with Andres Rivas

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Hello! My name is Andres Rivas, and I am one of the tour guides for the summer here at Harvey Mudd. I am originally from Minnesota, and I am a rising junior majoring in the joint computer science and mathematics major, with a concentration in Chinese foreign language.

Intramural Champions!

Being from Minnesota, I had no prior exposure to Mudd before I started looking for colleges, and even after I started I still didn’t know about Mudd. However, my dad told me about Mudd, and so we decided to take a visit and tour the campus. While on my tour, I thought that Mudd seemed like a really fun community, with everyone finding different ways to enjoy their time while at college. But what really drew my attention was Mudd’s core curriculum. I have always been interested in STEM subjects, however, I did not know what part of STEM I wanted to study. Thus, because of Harvey Mudd’s STEM reputation, along with the core curriculum, I was instantly interested in Harvey Mudd. I was able to explore different STEM departments before having to commit to a single one, and I was able to see which department I was particularly interested in and wanted to study. Because Harvey Mudd gave me the freedom to explore before committing to a single topic, I was able to figure out what I really wanted to do. 

Some of the things that I am involved in here at Mudd are that I am a part of Horror Games Club, where we go to an empty room in Shan and put up a horror game on the big screen while one person plays, so everyone can experience the horror together. I am also a Computer Science Grutor, where students who have already taken a class will help the professor grade assignments and also help out current students who are taking the class right now. I also take part in different intramural sports, where we won intramural futsal last year. During the pandemic, I was able to practice cooking a little bit, but because the food at the Hoch is so good I haven’t been able to do much cooking during the school year.

Some advice that I would give to high school seniors is that when choosing a college, you should be able to see yourself going there. So, you should visit the schools you are interested in and interact with the students there to get a feel for what it’d be like if you went there. You could be spending 4 years at the college you choose, so make sure to pick where you feel you would be the most comfortable at and be a part of that community.