And our Fantastic Student Assistants
Student Assistant's rule!
They are students currently enrolled in the computer science and robotics
curricula or Leap Alumni! They understand what you are experiencing,
thoroughly know the subject matter in the courses, and are a great
resource for feedback, guidance, instruction, counsel and all-around
assistance. They are also very friendly and want to help.
Sean Curtis will be a programming TA for Andrew's leap for his 4th year this summer. He is currently on a break from Case Western Reserve University and plans to return in the fall continuing his BS in Computer Engineering with a minor in German. At Case, he was a tutor for high school students in math and sciences. He is currently working at Carnegie Mellon University creating a Facebook application called SocialVideo for the Computer Science Department. He also works on many personal projects ranging from working on cars to creating small UNIX clusters with his computers.
Patrick DelBarba will be entering his junior year at Central Catholic High School this fall. This is currently his second year as a TA for Andrew's Leap after completing the program in the summer before his freshman year. He is obsessed with all things electronic or mechanical. He likes to experiment with different computer languages and can be found working with everything from Python to C#. During the school year he participates in the FIRST Robotics Competition as a robot programmer. Occasionally, he does freelance computer repair. In his free time he also likes to do metal fabrication. He is a sound technician for both Central's and Carlow Campus School's musicals. As a rower for Steel City Rowing Club, he can be found floating down the Allegheny on a nice day.
Steven Dieckmann is in his first year TAing for the introductory programming section, after taking it in the Summer of 2007. He is a huge fan of programming and plans to major in Computer Science. Steven is currently home-schooled in High School while taking part-time college classes at Carnegie Mellon. In addition, he is a cello player and currently a member of the Three Rivers Young Peoples Orchestra.
David Franklin will be a junior during the 2009 to 2010 school year at Shady Side Academy. He attended Andrew's Leap during the summer of 2008. For his final project at the program, he co-wrote a multiplayer 3D first-person shooter game in Java. His interests outside of computer science include Ultimate Frisbee, Science Olympiad, and Boy Scouts.
Lauren Milisits is a 2009 graduate of Allderdice High School. She has been involved with Leap since the summer of 2007 when she first attended as a student. Her favorite part of Leap, when working with the other members of the Claytronics research group, was building gigantic helium-filled balloons. She plans to attend college, although she has yet to determine which school. During her high school years, she was involved in stage crew for the school musical, science Olympiad and a summer softball league among other activities. She is currently a TA for the afternoon Robotics program where you can usually find her building a maze for the robots to navigate.
Alexander Moser is a Computer Science sophomore at Carnegie Mellon University. This will be his fourth year as a TA for Andrews' Leap. He is particularly interested in graphics programming and philosophy.
Simon Pople is returning for his second year as a teaching assistant at Andrew's Leap, after a rewarding experience as a student in the program. He graduated from Mt. Lebanon High School with a focus on math and sciences. Having completed his freshman year, Simon is satisfied with his choice to apply himself as computer science major at Allegheny College. His hobbies include participating in a technical theater crew, running sound board for a local church, throwing a frisbee, playing guitar and conquering virtual nations.
Margaret Schervish is currently a senior at The Ellis School. She will be attending Carnegie Mellon University next year to study computer science. She attended Andrews' Leap in the summer of 2007, where she learned Java. She was a teaching assistant, for Leap, the following summer. Some of her extra-curricular activities include soccer and stage management. She enjoys programming because it has taught her a logical way to think about solving problems, even when not using a computer.
Avisha Shah participated in the Andrew's Leap course in 2007 as a freshman. Over the summer of 2008, she participated in the course a second time as a teaching assistant. She is interested in the growing field of robotics because she wants to use her creativity to conceive and build new innovations. With the knowledge she gained at Leap, she created a fruit-picking robot, the "Optatron," which has won various awards. Avisha is particularly intrigued by the possibilities of using robotics in the field of medicine. In addition to robotics, Avisha enjoys outdoor activities and sports, including tennis. She has a passion for music and has given various singing and dancing performances. She will be completing her classical dance graduation on June 20, 2009. Avisha is also an active member of her school Forensics team. She loves adventures and trying new opportunities. Avisha has enjoyed the amazing experience at Leap for the past 2 summers and as a teaching assistant this year, she would like to help new Leapers have the same valuable experience she has enjoyed.
Key: TA = Teaching Assistant