Maximizing His Education

Bryce Widdoss ’26 wants a dynamic career filled with varied opportunities to use his talent for computer programming to solve problems. He is also fascinated by politics and feels strongly about humanitarian causes.

At Washington College, Widdoss found a place where he could pursue both of his interests as majors and through extracurricular activities while sticking to his plan to graduate in three years. (Frequent check-ins with his advisors for both of his majors and careful planning have kept him on track.)

“What’s essential to me is I get a career in tech, but I would love to leverage that political science degree,” Widdoss said. 

Serendipitously, the experiential learning requirement Widdoss chose for his political science major, the two-credit Model U.N. course, sent him to Washington, D.C., for four days in fall 2024 to discuss ethical uses of artificial intelligence, presenting as a New Zealand delegation skeptical about the technology and pushing for external checks on accuracy. 

His Introduction to Data Science course also dealt with AI during its unit on data ethics, which highlighted the racial bias that showed up when companies tried using AI to make hiring decisions. Widdoss said he planned to raise the environmental impact of AI during the Model U.N. discussions as well.

As much as Washington’s liberal arts approach means studying the impacts of technology, it in no way means neglecting the practical skills required for a computer science degree, which Widdoss highlights as the most important of the many things he’s gaining from his time at the College.

“I like to program outside of my courses. I like to make games,” Widdoss said. “When I finish a computer science class, I am able to go home and make something new. That’s really valuable to me.”

Even while maintaining stellar grades during 20-credit semesters, Widdoss is invested in campus life as well. In his role as vice president of the Student Government Association (SGA), he has been proud of his work supporting campus groups, both in promoting them through events like the annual club fair and in helping new (or returning) groups get up and running. 

He attends student-run activities, especially ones worked on by his fellow SGA officers, and enjoys going downtown for First Friday celebrations and the Saturday Farmers Market, which is as much a social event as a grocery shopping opportunity in Chestertown. Overall, Widdoss said he enjoys the small and supportive community, both in town and on campus.

“It is pretty easy to make friends. There are so many shared spaces,” he said. “We have some really great social events on campus. I’m really glad I came here.” 

— Mark Jolly-Van Bodegraven