If you can read this, thank a computer scientist. If you own a TV, pump gas into your car and/or use a cell phone, thank them again.

Computer science has become arguably inseparable from day-to-day activities, and both the computer science class and the National Computer Science Honor Society (NCSHS) equip students with skills to pursue the field.

“We’re all about self-development and self-learning,” Senior Bobby Monaco said.

As a class, computer science is comprised of independent projects based on varying student interests.

Some of these projects include developing an app for a hospital and launching a project from an outside business, NCSHS Sponsor and Computer Science Teacher Taylor Hudson said.

Compared to other school programs, Allen’s computer science department goes above and beyond.

“They focus on how you should think through computer science; we focus on how you should work through computer science,” Monaco said.

Beyond coding and programming, computer science can teach skills integral in many workplaces.

“It’s truly the process of breaking a problem down into its parts and looking at it,” Hudson said.

Along with problem-solving, project management and cooperation are both widely utilized in the class.

“If you want to … get involved in a project and make something out of it, then computer science is the place for you,” Monaco said.

While all of these skills are useful, the final development can be most rewarding.

“We’re not just solving problems,” Monaco said. “We’re creating something.”