Isabelle Caldwell Penland Carolina Scholar 
Southside High School
Simpsonville, South Carolina
Computer Science and Statistics 

UofSC has given me many incredible opportunities to study what I love across a wide array of disciplines, and I will always be grateful for the friendships I have made during my time here! 

Impactful experience: 
The computer science department funded my attendance at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing in 2018 and 2019, and being in the presence of so many talented technologists was awe inspiring.  

Enjoy most as a TS: 
My favorite thing about being a Top Scholar has been getting to know an incredible community of kind and interesting people over the last four years.  

Story: 
During my freshman year, Dr. Duncan Buell gave a guest lecture in my computer science seminar. He spoke about a project he worked on in the field of digital humanities, where computational methods are applied to data in the humanities. When I spoke to him after this lecture, not only did I meet a kind mentor who would guide me through my college experience, but I realized that I wanted to work at the university’s Center for Digital Humanities. Since then, I’ve worked on a library science project analyzing European book publishing from the 16th to 19th century and developed software for a spelling game for young children. I feel lucky that I’ve been able to apply knowledge from my classes to these interesting projects.  

Post-graduate plans:
Samyu will be enrolling in the political science doctoral program at the University of California, Los Angeles in the fall. 

Career goals/professional aspirations:
I hope to pursue a research career merging the quantitative computing and statistical skills I have learned at UofSC with applications to social and political science, particularly in the realm of voting rights advocacy.