AN EXTRAORDINARY GRADUATE: Mette Moffett

"I dedicated my time to academics; it has taken me farther than I ever thought."

For most, a degree with Highest Honors would be far enough. Mette, however, is extraordinary in what she did along the way to earning a B.S. in Information Computer Science: helping to invent a program that simulates a business environment, winning a research grant to develop the program, lecturing on the program in a graduate course at UHM, and co-founding a start-up internet company.

Originally from Denmark, Mette moved to Honolulu when her family transferred with the Marine Corps to Hawai`i in 1995. She admits to having had a difficult time during her first semester at UHM in spring 1997. "I was crying over my calculus book because I could not understand the standard terminology in English, and I spent weekends reading just ten pages in my History 151 book."

Nevertheless, it was also during her initial semester that she was drawn into the ICS program, enrolling in her first 100-level computer science class. With help from her husband, John, Mette had turned the situation around by semester’s end and taken her first firm step toward success.
The other steps soon followed. A campus job with Information and Computer Science resulted in her gaining necessary experience in Web application development, but joining the Honors Program as a junior proved to be crucial.

"I feel fortunate to be a part of the Honors Program because it has enabled me to have close relationships with professors, hands on experience, and numerous opportunities," Mette says.

The last and greatest stride in Mette’s amazing progress from the trials of her first semester was finding the mentor for her Senior Honors Project, Philip Johnson, professor of Information and Computer Science. With help from Dr. Johnson, Mette designed "Virtual Commerce" for her Senior Honors Project, a simulation on the internet integrated into a class teaching entrepreneurship. The V-Commerce Simulation Engine incorporates electronic commerce and develops Web site ideas.

"The process of the project is to work with interdisciplinary teams to have real life software development skills, learn project management, the Web site and develop a business plan," Mette explains. She even found herself explaining the process to an ICS graduate class. Furthermore, she was awarded a $5,000 Aspect Technology grant to continue her research project.

Having graduated, Mette is now focusing her considerable talents on developing "hotU," an internet company she co-founded that provides a variety of information for university students.
Mette Moffett’s career at the University of Hawai`i at Manoa is proof that if someone reaches high, she can achieve extraordinary things.