Jul 31, 2023
Show Notes:
Chris Cowell, a computer science major, shares an anecdote about his college experience. He mentioned that the computer science major concentration at Harvard was different from today, and how he worked with paper and pencil more than computers. Chris talks about the multiple paths taken in life after graduating from Harvard, including working for a public service program called Vista, which was started during the Vietnam War as a way for conscientious objectors to provide service to the country.
Chris was assigned to an adult literacy group in Lansing, Michigan, where he was in charge of matching tutors and literacy tutors with students who needed to learn how to read. This experience was unpleasant and lonely, but it was also a good antidote to the occasional preciousness of Harvard.
Through this experience, he was able to understand the struggles of a large portion of the population, including students who struggled with brain problems, mental health issues, and other struggles. This experience helped him understand that life doesn't come easy for many people. Chris shares a few anecdotes from his time in the program, including how the term dyslexia is used, how his experience taught him that there are many reasons an adult may have difficulty learning how to read, and how he would match teachers to students.
Pursuing a Philosophy Degree and Moving into Consulting
Chris initially had a side interest in philosophy and decided to pursue a philosophy degree. He took two years at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, taking more undergraduate philosophy classes and decided to pursue a PhD in philosophy. He went on to Berkeley for grad school and spent six years there, but felt like he was barely hanging on and didn't have much to contribute. He finished the program in 2001 but decided he wouldn’t pursue a career in the academic field and decided to go back into computer science. Chris was recruited by Anderson Consulting, a company that had just spun off from Arthur Andersen, which had been involved in the Enron scandal.
Chris' experience with Anderson Consulting was not what he expected. He was assigned to an eight-year in-town project in Sacramento, which was a contract with the government of California to set up a child welfare website, which was unfortunate because, although he had learned theory of computer science, he didn’t have the practical coding skills to complete the project. He was given the opportunity to learn programming but later transitioned to Accenture and moved into their research and development lab in Palo Alto during the height of the innovation era in the San Francisco Bay area.
Starting a Technical Training Company
Chris moved to Portland, where he worked for Oracle as a computer programmer. He worked for different companies in the Portland area, specializing in testing programs that test other programs. However, he realized that he had only been promoted once over the course of his 20-year career. This realization led him to change their focus from tech to doing technical training. Chris started a one-person technical training company, teaching people how to use software. He sold classes and in-person training to local companies and had fun building the curriculum. He also enjoyed public speaking. However, the COVID pandemic hit, but he had no marketing savvy and his company was failing. After a few years, he got a job with a real software company, teaching people how to use their software. He recently shifted to another company, and their career now focuses on technical training, building materials, and giving presentations on software usage.
Influential Harvard Courses and Professors
Chris remembers a few courses from college, but he found the core science courses the most interesting. David Lazarus’ Space, Time and Motion, the Recent History of Iran course, and Diana Eck’s Comparative Religion course. He loved the music appreciation course taught by Louise vos Gershon, who was described as the only faculty member at Harvard without a PhD. The skills learned in music appreciation have been useful in his singing and guitar playing ever since. Chris also values learning basic music theory, which is essential for musicians who want to understand how music theory works. He also joined the Harvard Speech in Parliament and Debate society where he may have debated Ted Cruz.
Timestamps:
03:23 Adult Literacy group in Lansing, Michigan
08:51 How to pick the right student
11:19 How Chris decided to pursue a Phd
15:25 How Chris started his career in tech
22:39 On starting his own technical training company
25:41 Courses and professors that have stayed with him
CONTACT:
Facebook: Cowell-shah
Email. Chris@post.harvard.edu