Josh Leikam, Baylor Computer Science Master's graduate

Question: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your educational background?
Answer: My name's Josh Leikam. My undergrad was in computer science at St. Edwards University. I got a minor in philosophy, which you might not think computer science and philosophy go together, but I found more and more that they do. And so that kind of set me up nicely.

I didn't know it at the time. I was kind of in the state of where should I go to grad school—should I try to find a job as a software engineer? And I found out, thankfully, that you can do both… I started my career as a software developer, did that for about a year, and then started looking for master's programs. I applied to Baylor, got my major in computer science, [with] a focus area in software engineering.

Question: What were some of your favorite aspects of Baylor’s online MS in Computer Science?
Answer: Some of my favorite aspects about Baylor's program, specifically the software engineering focus, was its emphasis on the practical part. And that's something I was looking for—something that I could readily apply as I'm working. I found that no matter what course I was taking, there were always lessons that I could immediately apply to what I was doing day to day.

Question: How was your experience with the online program and the instructors at Baylor?
Answer: Working with the instructors… my experience was very positive. Any questions I had they were always there. Even though there was the distance piece—the virtual piece—it still felt like a very close community… One of my concerns going into online programs, is that you're going to somehow just be like another student. You'll get lost in this kind of sea of students, and it's hard to have your voice heard, but that's something I'm thankful for during my experiences. I could always reach out to someone whenever I needed to.

Question: What kind of growth opportunities did you find as a student?
Answer: There's been a lot of growth opportunities going through the program. I think a big one has been that I can immediately apply [concepts] at my job. As a software developer, you not only have to understand how you're going to build something, but why and what you're going to build—the design piece. And so, a lot of my courses helped me get a foundational grasp on software design. I had many opportunities at work… to teach that knowledge to other people, mentor them and be a leader when it came to software design. So, that's something I'm really thankful for.

Question: What’s your greatest takeaway from going through the program?
Answer: Right as I was ending my degree, I was reflecting… I took the master's degree to learn, but where [did] I want to go from here? I think having a master's degree helped a lot for many reasons—being able to take a variety of courses, I learned about cybersecurity, databases, AI, software design… I felt confident that [in] no matter what role, I was a lot more prepared than before. Not only because of the academic things I learned, but the kind of person that I became through the program.

Question: Is there anything else you’d like to share about your academic journey overall?
Answer: Computer science and philosophy have an interesting relationship. No matter what we're doing, we're all sort of doing philosophy in our own way… you deal a lot in abstractions, and then those abstractions become reality—become concrete. And so, you need to apply a lot of critical thinking skills throughout that process.

When it comes to Baylor's mission around integrating faith in whatever we do… it definitely helps when you have a strong sense of your theology, your deeply held beliefs, and your core values like love, humility, care for the other person. I think, it's easy to forget about that… we wear multiple hats. We're computer scientists, we're philosophers, we're theologians, we're people of faith—and we're [all] human. So, I can always relate to another person on that level.

One thing I learned a lot at Baylor is, what I'm going through might be challenging, but there's another classmate beside me who's also a person. They have their own experiences. I can talk to them; we can connect, and we can learn. And the Bible says that iron sharpens iron. I think that was a really nice way of encapsulating my experience at Baylor.

Hear from Josh about his experience below: