Hong Jiang – Tech Hero Series

Hong Jiang

Hong Jiang – Changing Students’ Lives

I am an Associate Professor at Benedict College teaching multiple Computer Science core courses. I also advise students, conduct undergraduate research projects and am the Coursepower Program Director. As the Coursepower Program Director, I collaborate with multiple schools within Benedict College for the related curriculum development. I advise students on course selection based on their career goals, and monitor students’ enrollments and progress in the program.

The Power of Educators

I chose a career in education over 10 years ago because I enjoy the long summer break. However, during those years, I realized that educators have the power to change a students’ life. I’m so happy to see students grow, and so thankful when years later some students wrote letters to thank me for the impact in their life.

With a prayerful heart, I try to guide my students to find their own visions and passions and to help them become the “power for good” in society. Because I believe that everyone is valuable in God’s eyes, and everyone sees needs differently. If we can train our students with the related skills and knowledge to help them solve the problems they see, they are creating value to the community, the society or even the world.

During this journey, many people have been blessings to me. One of my advisors when I was a Ph.D student, and also one of our later collaborators – Dr. Huhns, and my supervisors at Benedict College, were good mentors to me. They provided me with sound advice and guidance when I had concerns or needed help. This advice and guidance enabled me to grow and advance my career to where I am today.

Diverse Technology/Education Trends

Today’s technology is changing people’s lives. In education, we need to take advantage of the technology, and reshape our teaching strategies and style correspondingly to help our students in a more efficient way. We live in a world with many diversities, where different people see different needs and have different thinking styles. If everyone is trained and equipped with the ability to solve the problems they see, they are contributing to this world. If the needs imply the potential vision, passion, or business opportunity, then the proper technology can be the tool to help you fly.

So, I believe that the first important skill for students is to be a good observer, to see the need(s), which can be the starting point of their vision/passion. Secondly, is critical thinking and the use of today’s technology to explore possible solutions. Finally, be a self-learner who can find the related materials to teach themselves.

Considering Tech as a Career?

Try some OSS (Open Source Software) projects to experience real world projects. Guided students projects and resources can be accessed here!

Hong Jiang

Hong Jiang is an associate professor at Benedict College in Columbia, SC. She is an IT-oLogy Tech Hero!

 

 

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