Name: Dominique Veracruz
Age: 18
Involvements: AMP and Kabbabayan.
Major and Year: First year Computer Science major
Hometown: San Leandro, California
Relationship status: I have a boyfriend, and he’s been my boyfriend for 2 years. His name is Jake.
Favorite Color?
My favorite color is pink, which is funny because I used to really hate the color pink because I thought it was so girly, but I embraced it you know. I embraced the feminism of the color pink.
Do you have any hobbies?
I like to go to concerts! I would be down to go to a country concert or a symphony one. It’s cool. I also like to drink a lot of boba and netflix. I think hiking is fun, but I don’t have the right equipment for that, like a backpack and shoes. Going to museums is fun too!
What is your best memory made in UCI so far and why?
SPOP was really fun for me because I met one of my best friends now, and she’s going to be my roommate next year. Her name is Princess. SPOP made me happy I chose UCI.
Who is your celebrity crush?
G-Dragon! He’s my crush right now. I don’t know why but he has so much swag and he’s so cool.
What is your dream job?
My goal right now is to work for Google when I graduate, but I don’t know exactly what I want to do. Maybe something with visuals, like designing a userface. I think Google would be really fun.
Do you have any hidden talents?
I used to be really good at accents. I guess my favorite would be Australian or British because at one point I was really obsessed with Five Seconds of Summer, so I would watch all their videos and interviews. I would be so used to their accents that I would just speak like that sometimes. My friends would be like, “Wow! You’re so good at that accent”. But now, I don’t know how to do it. I would be really good at British accents because I was really obsessed with this other band called McFly. They’re really big in the UK, or at least they used to be. But these are previous talents.
Who is your role model and why?
I don’t have an absolute role model, but I think Emma Watson is really influential. She knew that knowledge is really powerful. She went to school, she’s a UN ambassador, and she spoke about feminism. She’s also really good actress.
What are you passionate about?
I am really passionate about getting girls into STEM and computer science because I never knew that was an option for me before. I got into computer science by joining a program called “Girls Who Code”. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but now I know the disadvantage that girls have when it comes to the tech industry. There are not too many of us working for these big companies and we need ideas from girls. Most internet users are females and we need to cater to that audience too. Eventually I want to be either a TA for a “Girls Who Code” class or teach one. Basically “Girls Who Code” was a seven-week program in the summer, and it was free to girls, so we would be assigned to a certain company. I was at Twitter for seven weeks, learning how to code and it really opened my eyes to what computer science can do and how much fun they had. It was really cool, and I met a lot of people. It was a good network so I think empowering young women to learn how to code or get into the tech industry is something I’m passionate about.