Pursuing a Passion

Shristi Sharma has been teaching herself computer programming since fourth grade. She eventually learned so much that she was able to design an app that could predict Alzheimer’s Disease through a smart watch.

Now, she’s coming to Carolina to take what she learned on her own to the next level.

“I was just doing it as a hobby for all these years,” she said. “It has all been independent. This is my first time to get formal training in something I’m really passionate about.”

As she hones her computer science skills to address health issues impacting millions of Americans, she hopes to make a difference on campus and beyond.

“I think that’s what it means to be a Tar Heel: to be completely invested in your community,” said Sharma, a Robertson Scholar.

In the fall, Sharma plans on studying computer science, but more specifically, research in computer science.

“I think that it’s more than a major, it’s a skill. It’s super interdisciplinary, so you can use it with any subject you want,” she said. “For me, those subjects recently have become health, neuroscience and psychology. It’s brains, minds and computers. That’s the intersection I want to work at.”

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