Teaching Testimonial

After taking three separate courses with you, I can say without hesitation that you definitely put a lot of work into making sure that we as students excel. You provide us with exactly what we need to succeed in each assignment, are open to discussion and willing to help us out whenever the opportunity arises, and are very encouraging when commenting on our work in general. This has become especially apparent through online teaching, as you seem to be doing everything you can to communicate with us; online meeting sessions, email contact, and even hour-long videos in which you elaborate on the week’s lesson so your students can better understand it. The amount of detail you put into explaining each lesson has ended up teaching me more than what I would ever expect to learn from a single semester. To be honest, you’re probably the only professor I know who could teach me three separate programming languages in just 90 days. The lab sessions you have us participate in during class periods help keep each meeting hands-on and interactive, and the programs we create out of them provide us reference for when we start working on the more serious projects in the class. The last three courses I’ve taken with you I’ve often regarded as some of my favorites, because not only are they flexible and easy to manage, but they also keep my own motivation up and allow me to learn about a lot of obscure topics that I wouldn’t be able to easily learn anywhere else. I don’t really know what else to say here, besides… thank you for everything so far! I appreciate every minute of your time you dedicate to helping us as students, and I am excited to see it continue in the future!
--Ethan Boisvert

My Computer Science degree from Keene State College would not be the same without Meenalosini Vimal Cruz. Professor Cruz spearheaded many of the advanced Computer Science classes offered at Keene State as well as offered research projects for Computer Science majors. She introduced classes like Machine Learning and Digital Image Processing which I believe having taken will be extremely advantageous in my Computer Science career going forward and I thank her for that.
-- Kolton Sumner

This is simply a letter of gratitude for your enduring support over the past year. I was lucky to have someone with your skillset join the computer science faculty. And with my previous interest in data science, I knew you’d be a good resource. But I could not have imagined the opportunity to work so heavily in research. After conducting what is coming up on a year of research in the subject, I now know it’s what I would like to do long-term. I foresee myself becoming a lifelong developer and advocate of AI. And with all the things I’ve learned and accomplished in the past year, I finally feel like I’m in a good place to do so. This, again, is thanks to you and our collaborative research. I hope that publishing will reflect well on me, so I can attend graduate school for data science after next year. I also hope that the INBRE presentation goes well and we can continue our research throughout my last year at Keene State! I look forward to new unexpected data science challenges,
-- Matthew Pittendreigh

I have really enjoyed this class and I have learned a lot already. I really appreciate your organization both in class and on Canvas. You take the time to make sure everyone is understanding what they are learning and I think that has helped us so much. We also happen to be a good group of students that like to help each other as well and the environment that you set really encourages that. Thank you so much for caring about the success of your students.
--Michael Russillo

Being a first-generation student can be hard. You'll be going into the unknown and into a lot of new stuff you'll be learning about. Dr.Cruz, has been a major help for my field of interest in computer science. In class, her enthusiasm for helping others and getting the class involved to help others is the best thing I can ask for in a class. An environment where everyone is on the same page is the best environment and Dr.Cruz does an excellent job at keeping this class interesting and beginner friendly.
--Richard Phipps

I will start by saying Professor Cruz has an unbelievable level of experience in the field of the class I’ve taken with her so far, ISCS 150. She is very succinct with descriptions and explanations and efficiently utilizes a marker and whiteboard to efficient results during lectures. I am glad she utilizes tutors so we can occasionally get more feedback outside of class. Professor Cruz has done a great job making an extremely daunting and unapproachable subject a bit easier to get started with. I’m glad I took her class early so I had a chance to see Computer Science as a possible path for me to take during college. I really like the concept of presenting our work periodically to the class as an assignment. Professor Cruz has fostered a really cooperative and positive environment and did not impede the class train of thought with any regimented oversight, which allowed students to work together to solve problems with her assistance.
--Brandon Peddle

Throughout these really odd circumstances you have made your class very straight-forward and easy to follow along with, both online and in-person. I really enjoy the use of the video lectures, as well as how you record every class in case someone misses it and needs to catch up. Also, I enjoy your assignments as they are still a challenge in terms of creativity and applying what we learn, but like I said, it’s easy to follow the instructions and it’s great to know exactly what we have to do. Thank you for being a great professor!
-- John Fisher

I find this course very new and exciting. It is my first time taking this course on website design and construction. I was nervous at the beginning of the class because I am not from a computer science background and the whole concept of HTML was new to me. However, Dr. Cruz made my learning experience much more comfortable and worth learning. I really admire Dr. Cruz's relationship with her students. She is very student-oriented, and her class is one of the most interactive classes I ever have. Even on zoom, this is the only class where students feel comfortable interacting and keeping their camera on. Her teaching motive is not to make students suffer from hard grading or hard material but to actually teach them. She ensures every student understands the learning materials and helps her student with proper guidance, constructive feedback, and tutors. She gives multiple chances in taking quizzes, which allows students to focus on learning rather than getting good grades. She is very invested and well prepared in her class, from making a video presentation to PowerPoint slides. And I am really grateful for her motivating and friendly nature towards students.
-- Benajil Roy

I have learned so much during my courses with Professor Cruz and taking her courses has really peaked my interest with learning about website design and programming. She is always prepared with learning materials and does a great job teaching her students. I have had a great experience being in Professor Cruz’s classroom and she is always willing to help me when I get stuck. She goes the extra mile to deliver a great education in computer science.
-- Vanessa Berrill

Dr. Vimal Cruz is one of the most passionate educators I had the privilege of learning from during my time at Keene State College, a fact made ever more apparent amidst the COVID-19 outbreak where she spent countless hours preparing online classes with step-by-step instructions, video tutorials, and links to numerous outside resources to help us better understand the principals and concepts of the course curriculum. I had classes with Dr. Vimal Cruz in both her first and third year at KSC, and saw a marked difference in both her confidence and adaptation of her teaching style to best accommodate the needs of her students. Not only did Dr. Vimal Cruz motivate students to participate in class, an impressive feat in a climate where most students don't say a word in classroom discussions, she also encouraged students to help one another - which as we know is a fantastic way to learn. I would absolutely recommend Computer Science students take classes with Dr. Vimal Cruz.
--Tyson St John

I have truly learned so much from Professor Cruz, I came into the course not knowing a single thing about computers. The amount of knowledge I have gained has blown my mind. The work isn’t always easy, but we all need a challenge! The workload is very doable though and gives students a good understanding of the topics the class is learning about. I have really enjoyed taking this course and having the opportunity to have Professor Cruz.
--Sara Christian

I really enjoy this class and I like how you have it set up so that you could do all the work independently if you needed. If I ever forget something we went over in class I can look back at the lab practice videos or the lectures for a refresher. I think you do a very good job teaching the class.
--Isaac Reed

Dr. Cruz is a great teacher. Her class is easy to follow and everything is explained very well. Her class is very organized and even with the current covid pandemic going on, you can stay ahead in her class. The online part is relatively the same every week, so your assignments are structured the same. Web Design & Construction taught by Dr. Cruz is great for beginners or anyone who is interested in learning more about Web Development.
-- Edin Halilovic

This class is the most organized class I have had during the COVID-19 pandemic. It doesn't seem like there's any busy work and there is plenty of time for help within the zoom classes. I enjoy the relaxed nature of the class and I don't feel dumb when I have issues with coding. I enjoy having different aspects of the weekly homework due at different times during the week and not all on one day because it forces me to get work done on different days and not procrastinate which is sometimes necessary.
-- Etter Cordelia

I have enjoyed all of Dr. Cruz's classes I have taken. Her classes typically include equal parts lecture and hands on practice which leads to better retention of the material for the students. The work isn't always easy, but she is accessible for additional help if needed. I would take classes with Dr. Cruz again.
-- Nicholas Pearson