INTRODUCTION

Hello everyone, my name is Andrea Baxter, most people just call me Drea. This is my second semester at CSUSM and I just started the ICP program. It is kind of hard to say where I am from, my father was in the military and we moved around quite a bit. I was born in Garden Grove, CA and lived here until I was about 8, then we moved to Chicago, then Iceland, then Virginia Beach, VA, which is where I attended high school (Salem) and spent the majority of my adult life. So I would have to say I am from VA/CA, both places have offered experiences that have shaped me into who I am.
Okay, my experience with technology is probably middle of the road. I started using a computer when I was about 11, a crazy old school Commador 64 then we upgraded to 128. I have worked with both Mac’s and PC’s, but I have to admit I know the PC much better because that is what I own. Not so much because of preference, just that is what I could afford at the time. I am not up to date on all of the new gadgets that seem to reinvent themselves every couple of months. I think if I tried to stay on top of all of that I would make myself nuts, but I am confident that if there is something I just have to have I could sit down and tinker with it and figure it out. I do not believe that my life would fall apart without technology, but I definitely use it on a daily basis.
Lastly, the part of the CSUSM/COE Mission Statement that speaks most to me is “commitment to student-centered education.” All aspects of the statement are important, but what a student needs to succeed comes first in my book. I can not say that this was a factor in my decision to attend CSUSM. I had heard from many sources that this school had an excellent teaching program and it was the closest campus to my home, so that is why I choose to come here.