Student Profile: Mitchell Morris

Mitchell Morris decided he wanted to become an engineer by using the same kind of methodical approach engineers use in their work.

“It was more a step-by-step process,” says Mitchell, PhD ’10 Computer Science, than a singular moment of epiphany. He said his passion for computer science began before he was in high school, when his mother brought home a graphing calculator.

“She is a math professor and started using them in her classes,” he says. “I learned how to program the calculators in their own BASIC-like language.”

Mitchell and a friend programmed formulas from their math classes and installed games on the calculators.

“By the time I applied to college, there was no doubt in my mind that computer science was the path for me.”

By then, Mitchell was already familiar with Columbia University.

“When I was in high school, I was part of the Columbia Science Honors Program,” he says. “Because of my familiarity with the campus, and my dreams of living in Manhattan, I wanted to attend Columbia very much.”

Mitchell deferred that dream a bit to first attend McGill University in Montreal. After graduation, he then entered Columbia SEAS as a one-term special student, a program for those who not yet certain they want to pursue a graduate degree.

Once he was here and taking two classes, it didn’t take Mitchell long to decide.“I started with that and now I’m staying!”

Mitchell Morris

Age: 26
Hometown: Harrison, New York
Undergraduate degree: BS Computer Science, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
Favorite Band: ASOB
Favorite Movie: Batman Begins
Favorite spot in NYC:Times Square
Hobbies: Games, programming and friends

Mitchell expects to earn his Ph.D. in Computer Science by 2010.

He has already begun using his experiences on campus in the workplace.

“I am using what I have learned all the time,” he says. “In my internships at IBM, I have applied the software engineering skills I have learned at school. At my internship at Credit Suisse, I apply the independent problem-solving skills that I have developed during my research time. In my game design hobby, I apply the concepts that I learned in the video game design courses.”

Mitchell is not yet certain on his career goal. He is divided between three paths: finance, industrial research and game design.

Posted: May 14, 2009