“The failure to recognize that people are both creative and rational is the biggest failure in science courses today,” says senior Lukas Schwab. An avid computer programmer Schwab was speaking to the Pearl Rotary Club on Sept. 18 about the importance of programming in an academic setting.

His speech centered on the idea that programming, along with STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) in general, shouldn’t be separated from other courses, but instead the curricula should be integrated together, as computer programming can so often compliment those other classes. Schwab said he believes that when a person is labeled as “creative” or “rational,” he is robbed of his potential to be both. The same is true when programming is separated from other subjects, he said.

Even if the average student dismisses programming as a non-vital skill, it can be applied to more than just STEM subjects, Schwab said. “Programming is a means, not an end,” he explained. For example, Schwab said, having a background in coding can be extremely useful in web and graphic design, as well as in fields such as social work, where it can be used to establish community-maintained wifi access for areas that wouldn’t otherwise have it.

“I hate that in computer science classes, there’s no application to get excited about,” said Schwab, who learned in a research lab, where the focus was on the application of skills, not just their acquisition. Still, he says, “It was not good enough, because there wasn’t a product or a customer.” Currently, Schwab is working for On The Go Platforms, a programming company working in gesture recognition software development. “Now, I’m very excited because I get to work with people who use what I build,” Schwab said. ” That’s what motivates me.”