LEAP Student Assistants



And our Fantastic Student Assistants
Student Assistant's rule!
They are students currently enrolled in the computer science and robotics curricula or Leap Alums! 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.

 


 

Danny Balter
will be a junior in computer science at Carnegie Mellon this fall. Danny taught advanced programming at Leap in 2014 and this will be his second summer with Leap.

 

Julie Chen
enjoyed Leap last summer and will TA intermediate programming this summer. She attends North Allegheny High School. In her spare time, Julie enjoys Capture the Flag competitions and soccer.

 

Xavier Horton
will be a freshman at Hampton University this fall, studying computer science. It is his first year as a TA in intro programming. He attended Leap in 2015, and is excited to be a TA this coming summer. In his free time Xavier enjoys skateboarding, comic books, and movies.

 

Nathaniel Hull
will be a senior at Winchester Thurston School in the fall. He attended Leap in 2015 and is returning as a programming TA. Besides coding, Nathaniel enjoys playing soccer, reading books, and playing video games during his free time.

 

Akshath Jain
will be a junior at North Allegheny this fall. He attended Leap in 2015 and will be a TA for programming this year. In his free time, Akshath enjoys debating, running cross country, and playing tennis for his school.

 

Andrew Jiang
graduated from Sewickley Academy this spring. He attended Leap in 2014 and looks forward to teaching Robotics this summer, his second with Leap. He led both his school's FIRST robotics club and programming club. In his free time, he volunteers at his local hospital and animal shelter and enjoys swimming, playing cards, creating digital music, and reading the news.

 

Ishan Khatri
will be a first year student in Computer Science at the University of Massachusetts this fall. Ishan attended Leap in 2015 and will be a Robotics TA this summer. Ishan enjoys tennis and golf in his free time.

 

Jasmine Lee
will be a senior at Columbus Academy in Gahanna, Ohio in the fall. This is her first year as a Robotics TA after attending in 2015. She is the captain of her school’s FIRST Tech Challenge robotics team, #6253 Avalanche, and is passionate about computer science. Outside of robotics and programming, Jasmine also is an avid equestrian, plays the violin and piano, and enjoys painting and drawing in her spare time.

 

Tom Scherlis
will be a senior at Shady Side Academy this fall. This is his second year as a Robotics TA after attending the Leap robotics track in 2014. He is an active member of his school's Science Olympiad team, and a captain of his school's FIRST robotics team, FTC 6640. He enjoys photography, video editing/animating, video games, and tennis in his free time.

 

Ashwin Srinivasan
will be a junior at Pittsburgh Allderdice High School. This is his second year as a TA for Intermediate Programming, and he attended Leap in 2014. In his free time, Ashwin enjoys programming and playing the guitar.

 

Kevin Stiles
will be a first year student in computer science at Carnegie Mellon this fall. Kevin was a teaching assistant for the Intro Programming track at Leap during the last three summers and is returning to teach his fourth year. Harboring a great passion for computers, Kevin programs games almost as frequently as he plays them, and he has taught computer applications to teachers and students at his school.

 

Luke Vacek
will be a senior at Winchester Thurston High School this fall. Luke enjoyed his time at Leap in 2014 and returns for a second year as a TA in Intermediate Programming in 2016, excited to teach others what he has learned. When he isn’t programming, he can be found playing ultimate, producing electronic music, or playing video games.

 

Jingze Wu
will be a second year student at CMU studying Electrical and Computer Engineering. Jing teaches Intro Programming and this is his third year. He enjoys singing, watching anime, and playing tennis. Jing is also a Grandmaster at Starcraft 2 and a Diamond 1 League of Legends player.

 

Mira Zeitlin
will be a second year student at CMU studying Math. Mira enjoys creative writing, reading and whitewater rafting.

 

 

Key: TA = Teaching Assistant


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