Our Staff
Staff
Instructor
Head TA
Caroline Begg she/her/hers
- Blurb on Current Courses
- I am taking CIS 3200 (Intro to Algorithm), WH 3010 (Teamwork and Interpersonal Influence), FNCE 2500 (Venture Capital and the Finance of Innovation), FNCE 2190 (International Markets and Cryptocurrency), CBE 5000 (Gambling on Innovation), ACCT 1010 (Accounting and Financial Reporting), and CIS 4500 (Database and Information Systems). I am a junior in the M&T program studying CIS and Finance, so I am taking a mix of Wharton and SEAS classes this semester.
- Favorite Hot or Cold Beverage, and Why
- My favorite beverage is a black iced coffee (especially nitro cold brew)!
- Office Hours
- TBA
- Useful Part of Cis 3500
- I loved CIS 3500 and learned so much from it. In addition to having the ability to work on a cool project to add to my portfolio and work with a team, I also learned a lot about the more logistical aspect of things and terminology, such as how to use Github. Though these may seem simple, they definitely helped me become more confident with software engineering!
Michelle Chang she/her/hers
Korean, Spanish
- Blurb on Current Courses
- I am taking Business Korean I, Computer Organization and Design, Market and Social Systems on the Internet, and Senior Design. I’m taking CS courses to improve my technical skills, and I’m taking a Korean class to sharpen my Korean for my profession later.
- Favorite Hot or Cold Beverage
- My favorite hot beverage is a latte, especially when skiing.
- Favorite Part of Cis 3500
- My favorite part of CIS 3500 is the publication of the final project to the world. I think this step is so satisfying because all the hard work that my fellow group members and I have put in pay off as we broadcast the work to the world.
- Office Hours
- TBA
TA
Franci Branda-Chen he/him/his
Spanish (native speaker)
- Blurb on Current Job
- I am an incoming software engineer at Capital One. I really love the work-life balance, which I got to experience during my internship and also how there are so many cool teams to work under. I highly encourage you to apply if you get the chance!
- Favorite Part of Cis 3500
- For our final project we made a chrome extension that searches the ratings of courses at Penn by using the Penn Course Review APIs. It basically shows what Penn Course Review website would show, but in a neat and simple way. My favorite part is that we were able to deploy this to the Chrome Web store and we have actual users at Penn that use it!
- Office Hours
- TBA
- Two Truths and One Lie
- I am somewhat good at pool, I cannot swim, I hate caterpillars
Clara Fee they/them/theirs
Spanish
- Blurb on Current Courses
- One interesting course I’m taking this semester (At Bryn Mawr College) is Computer Printmaking. The course involves learning about digital design techniques, including getting familiar with Photoshop and other design software, and then using traditional printing techniques like block printing and lithography to print the design you made digitally! I’m really interested in technological art and artistic technology, and this course will help me build both software skills and artistic skills.
- Favorite Part of Cis 3500
- My favorite part of CIS 3500 was learning about the ideas that other groups had! It was really intersting to see what other groups had come up with and, even if they had a similar idea that our group had, what direction they chose to take their project.
- Fun Fact About You
- One fun fact about me is that besides CS, I’m a Spanish major and a film minor!
- Office Hours
- TBA
Adam Gorka he/him/his
- Blurb on Current Courses
- This semester, I’m taking CIS 5600, MATH 3130, ITAL 0100, and senior design. As a graduating senior, I wanted to round off my degree with a more relaxed schedule. I’m taking CIS 5600 and MATH 3130, since I’m interested in computer graphics and the two courses have a good overlap.
- Favorite Hot or Cold Beverage
- Vanilla milkshake - its yummy
- Favorite Part of Cis 3500
- My favorite part was working on the final project and hosting it on the chrome web store. I thought it was great being able to share the project with my friends by letting them go to the chrome store and try the extension out themselves. Overall, I found the final project to be very rewarding.
- Office Hours
- TBA
Nora Han she/her/hers
- Blurb on Current Courses
This semester, I selected courses that align with my career goals in robotics, AI, and data-driven decision-making:
- ESE 6500 - Learning in Robotics
This course bridges machine learning and robotics, focusing on algorithms like Bayesian filtering and reinforcement learning, applied to mobile robots. It’s a perfect fit for advancing my practical and theoretical understanding of intelligent systems. - MKTG 4760 - Applied Probability Models in Marketing
I chose this course to enhance my ability to construct and analyze probabilistic models, a skill transferable to designing AI systems and user-centered robotics applications. - STAT 5710 - Modern Data Mining
This course provides hands-on experience with advanced data analysis techniques like Random Forest and Support Vector Machines, vital for handling real-world datasets in robotics and AI.
These courses collectively prepare me to address real-world challenges in intelligent systems and analytics-driven solutions.
- ESE 6500 - Learning in Robotics
- Favorite Part of Cis 3500
- My favorite part of the course is learning to host webpages using GitHub Pages. It’s a practical skill that I’ve already applied when building, updating, and testing the FemmeHacks [femmehacks.io] website. This hands-on experience has been incredibly rewarding, as it allowed me to directly implement what I learned in class into a real-world project.
- Fun Fact About You
- I have a puppy; you can request to meet her on Zoom ;)
- Office Hours
- TBA
Lesedi Kereteletswe she/her/hers
- Blurb on Current Job
- I currently work as a software engineer for The Buy Nothing Project—a startup in the cyclical economy dedicated to fostering sustainable consumption and community connection. My role focuses on seeing through the development of new features from concept to completion. This includes building components, designing user flows, determining development timelines and priorities, liaising with the design team, the feedback desk, other developers, and quality assurance—essentially building out the feature infrastructure. My favorite part of the role is the proximity to decision-making power. Having ownership over features means I’m deeply engaged in every stage of the product lifecycle, which makes the work both dynamic and fulfilling.
- Office Hours
- TBA
- Useful Part of Cis 3500
- I’d always considered myself a product-minded person who loves coding for the everyday consumer. CIS 3500 was my first exposure to app and web development, along with related disciplines. Through this course, I learned essential UI/UX design practices, how to use tools like Figma and React, work with Git, and code in JavaScript. These skills enabled me to create products that people actively interact with. CIS 3500 opened the door to the user-facing world of software product development, introducing me to the areas of software development that felt most intuitive and enjoyable—areas that I’ve continued to focus on in my career.
Iain Li he/him/his
Chinese
- Blurb on Current Job
- This past summer, I completed my internship at Microsoft as a Technical Program Manager (TPM); I worked on executing AI agents for Microsoft’s Cloud + AI and also implemented programs for its Data Centers.
- Office Hours
- TBA
- Something You Liked About Your Hometown
- I’m from Taipei, Taiwan, and we have the best bobas.
- Useful Part of Cis 3500
- CIS3500 was my first full-stack development course at Penn, and it made me fall in love with all the dimensions my CIS degree can offer!
Andrés Mondragón he/him/his
Spanish
- Blurb on Current Courses
- I am taking 3 courses but the one I am most excited about is CIS 5230 Ethical Algorithm Design since I have previously done research that aligns with the course contents.
- Office Hours
- TBA
- Your Favorite Cis 3500 Memory?
- I have never taken the class!
Ani Petrosyan she/her/hers
Armenian
- Blurb on Current Courses
- This semester I’m taking Algorithms, which helps build a strong foundation in computational thinking. I’m also taking Introduction to Human-Computer Interaction to learn how to design technology that’s intuitive and user-friendly. Another exciting course is Ethical Algorithm Design, where we explore the impact of technology on society and how to create fair systems. Lastly, I’m taking Energy Systems, Resources, and Technology because I really enjoyed a previous energy course at Penn and wanted to learn more.
- Favorite Part of Cis 3500
- My favorite part of CIS 3500 was the final project. I really enjoyed working with my team—we started early, stayed organized, and even finished ahead of schedule. It was especially exciting to see our work come to life as a fully functional Chrome extension that we created together.
- Fun Fact About You
- I’ve been snowboarding since I was 4
- Office Hours
- TBA
Rayyan Shaik he/him/his
N/A
- Blurb on Current Job
- Role: Software Development Engineer (SDE) Intern, Company: Amazon (Robotics), Interviews: There were 2 sets of interviews for this current role with a heavy emphasis on the behavioral aspects, How’s the job? I start(ed) working only at the end of January, and I’m excited to learn and contribute :)
- Favorite Hot or Cold Beverage
- I love drinking coffee, and I love making coffee - I’m still working on making decent latte art though 😅
- Favorite Part of Cis 3500
- I really enjoyed the open-ended nature of the final project. Of course there was a lot of creative freedom, which allowed my group to really explore a topic/problem we found interesting. More importantly however, since the goals weren’t as rigid as in most courses there was a lot of freedom for our group to experiment with how to plan, develop, and even a bit of marketing as a team.
- Office Hours
- TBA