Helen Wang

What’ve you enjoyed most about your area of study? Was there a particular discovery, new skill or way of thinking, or insight that you found especially valuable? Please share an example from your favorite class or experience.

I’ve loved exploring the breadth of classes offered, and I’ve learned a lot about how to understand and interact with different perspectives. Some of my favorite classes were 17.449 (Emerging Technology and International Security), 17.561 (European Politics), and 17.251 (Congress and the American Political System)—each subject provided its own set of unique and hard-won insights, and I found all of them valuable.

How does the knowledge from this field, or your interest in it, combine with your other major or minor studies at MIT?

There’s a lot in the intersection of computer science and political science that I’m really excited about! Tech policy is growing rapidly, and it’s clear it’ll only become more consequential in the coming years. There’s also a large civic tech ecosystem in the US, where engineers are building technology that solves all sorts of difficult and politically relevant problems.

An MIT education includes study in the scientific, technical, social science, arts, and humanities fields. How do you think that wide range of knowledge and perspectives will be valuable to you – for your career success and for your enjoyment of life?

My 17.045 professor recommended to me the UChicago 2002 Aims of Education Address, which stuck with me when I first read it and which I think is particularly apt to quote here. “By increasing the density of meanings in an experience, you expand that experience. You make it more extensive and more enduring all within the same social and temporal space. Education is a way of expanding experience.”

What are your plans for the future?

I’m moving to San Francisco to be a software engineer at Watershed, a climate startup that helps companies decarbonize!