Tell Us about Yourself
What AEOP program(s) did you participate in?
UNITE
Words of Advice?
Best Things about the Program?
I attended the Unite program hosted by the University of Nevada,Las Vegas (UNLV). We worked in the Big Data Lab within the computer science department.Thanks to my programming mentors, Carter Chiu and Elliot Ploutz, and my research mentors, Matin Nia and Shahab Tayeb, I worked in a very encouraging environment where everyone wanted each of us to succeed. I really enjoyed learning how to program in multiple languages, including C, C++, Python and Java. I also wrote several research papers, ranging from topics in social media networking to verifying signatures and checking for fraud.
How Participating in AEOP Inspired You to Advance in the STEM Field?
My experience in Unite taught me how to think like a computer scientist. An added bonus was howI was able to work with theUNLV Writing Center to build my research paper writing skills and strengthen my skills to read and analyze published research. Through my research, I learned about using game theory to find Nash equilibrium in social networks;deep learning to check signatures for forgery on checks;and optimizing a social media network algorithm for “friend” recommendation—all college-level topics not typically covered in high school classes. Lastly, I learned how to present a paper to an audience effectively.
