Isaac Vrba
Iowa State University
Spring 2023
CprE 494: Cumulative Reflection
My name is Isaac Vrba and I am currently a senior in Computer Engineering who is also going for a minor
in Cyber Security. Ever since I was in middle school, I knew that I wanted to do something with
computers, but I wasn’t quite sure exactly in what domain. I kept my options open throughout high
school as I took a few Project Lead the Way and STEM courses. As high school graduation came around,
most of my friends went to Iowa State University while I went to Kirkwood Community College so that I
could use a scholarship that I had received and to hopefully save a little money. After two years of taking
classes that would help me prepare for a computer-related major, I graduated from Kirkwood
Community College. I left with an Associate of Sciences Degree in the Spring of 2020.
When the time came to transfer to Iowa State, I decided to delve deeper into my passion for computers
and gain a thorough understanding of how they work. From this, I chose to major in computer
engineering, allowing me to gain hands-on experience with computer hardware and software while
developing my problem-solving and analytical skills. One of the first courses that I took at Iowa State was
CprE 185: Introduction to Computer Engineering where we learned the basics of C programming and
how to write basic programs. This was the first time that I had touched C, something that I see now as an
integral part of the daily life of a computer engineer. To help us develop our skillset, Dr. Jacobson asked
us to upload a weekly assignment called “Hour of Coding,” and for this we were given the freedom to
program anything we would like. During that time, I would say was the starting moment when I noticed
ISU starting to adjust us to the importance of learning outside of the classroom and how to learn
independently.
Now as a senior, understanding the importance of learning independently and the enjoyment that can
come out of it. Knowing how to effectively learn new skills can help achieve personal and professional
growth, along with developing critical thinking, problem-solving, and time management skills, which are
essential for success in any field. In addition, being able to learn independently has shown me that
sometimes you can best understand the content when it peaks my own interest and relates to some of
the ongoing things that I am working on.
One of the things that I am currently working on is finishing my senior design project with my team.
More information about my project can be found on my website, but as for the things learned from
undergoing a year-long task with six other people has been an unforgettable experience. Our team is
really passionate about shared end goal and because of this drive that we all have in common, we found
ourselves doing the most we could to ensure that we were successful. We have met with professors that
I had never talked to before and we would talk about any questions we had and their recommendations
on what direction we should take.
Me and another member of the team would also go to the Ardunio/Audio Club meetings to learn more
about how to use our microcontroller and found a lot of success in understanding the basics from
something we would never have learned in a classroom. We would continue to easily spend a couple
hundreds of hours learning more specific parts for our project such as how Bluetooth Low Energy works
and how to implement it, how to decompose an analog signal via fast Fourier transforms, how to
interface other hardware to the microcontroller, and in general how our code should be structured to get
the most out of designing our Kalimba addon.
Iowa State University has gradually shown me over my three years that we are ultimately responsible for
our own learning and success. Exclusively going to class in order to learn in a vast field is not enough, and
it certainly will not help with networking. I have found that by attending events that are put on though
the university and college, you will meet a lot of honest people who love the work they do and are more
than happy to help you learn. Whether it is attending the semester’s Cyber Defense Competition,
learning how to solder in the TLA at 7pm on a Wednesday night, or meeting with your embedded
systems team during the weekend to work on our project, it’s the irregular times that I’ve spent on
campus that have been the most memorable and satisfying.
In conclusion, as I reflect on my academic journey at Iowa State University, I realize that the importance
of continuously updating my professional skillset cannot be overstated. As I pursued my passion for
computer engineering, I learned that learning independently and creating your own learning
opportunities is vital to personal and professional growth. In today's rapidly changing world, new
challenges arise, and the only way to solve them is by constantly updating one's knowledge and skills. It
is not enough to rely solely on traditional classroom education, and we must take responsibility for our
own learning to stay ahead of the curve. By continuously updating our skillset, we can better position
ourselves to tackle new challenges and create innovative solutions.
