About Me

Hello friends, my name is Ajay! I am a rising senior majoring in Computer Science and minoring in Data Science and Linguistics at UNC-Chapel Hill. I currrently serve as an Undergraduate Teaching Assistant at the UNC Department of Computer Science. I am the developer of Luduan, a Chinese language learning app for iOS. I have also worked on other iOS apps, such as PocketChem, a chemistry reference tool for high school students, and Geogsmart, a geography learning and quiz app.

Interests

I am extremely passionate about computer science education, and developing pedagogical methods to increase engagement, passion, equity, and inclusiveness in computing! I am also interested in how computers and software can have this same effect in the classroom and enhance student learning, promote curiosity about new topics, and reach those previously excluded from quality education.

I am also interested in the intersection of computing and natural language. We communicate through language, and I enjoy learning about how computers process, understand, and communicate in human language is transforming how humans interact with computers. I am interested also interested in how computers can help people learn new languages, connecting of people that were previously disconnected through language barriers.

I am also passionate about design! I believe that well-designed apps and software makes the user experience more meaningful and impactful, furthering the mission and goals of the app. I am interested in learning more about human-computer interaction and how design choices affect how people use apps, increase accessibility to allow more people to use the app, and what people think about the software they interact with every day.

Lastly, I believe that as computer scientists and software engineers, we have a responsibility to use our knowledge and skills in a way that is ethical, thoughtful, and improves the human condition through social good. I am interested in the ethics of computing, as well making mobile and web apps that help real people!

In my free time, I enjoy learning about languages and linguistics. I am currently learning Mandarin (大家好)! I also enjoy cooking, traveling, and learning more about the crazy world in which we live.

Journey into CS

My journey into computer science started in middle school, when I got my own iPad mini for the first time. As most of us were, I loved the variety of different apps I could use on my iPad, from fun games to apps I would write with or draw in. I was extremely curious how these apps worked, and wondered how hard it could be to build one myself. Despite tinkering with Scratch a little bit before, at the time, I knew nothing about coding.

Around the same time, a brand-new programming language for iOS development, Swift, was released by Apple. With the craze around this new, beginner-friendly language, I started learning the basics through YouTube and online articles. In 8th grade, we were assigned a project in English class called "Genius Hour" - where we had the entire year to work on a project of our own choosing that tackled some sort of problem. Our final project could be anything we liked. I decided to work on my very first app for this project. Over that year, I worked on GeogSMART - a basic app that quizzed students on geography! I was able to release this app on the App Store by the end of the year, which was an extremely fun and rewarding experience. Since that moment, I knew that I wanted to major in computer science in college.

In high school, I took my first formal computer science course, AP Computer Science. Using the concepts I learned in that class, I rebuilt GeogSMART from the ground up for nearly a year, and re-released the app as Geogsmart on the iOS App Store. I also had an incredible chemistry teacher in my second year in high school, which inspired me to create PocketChem, a chemistry reference app.

I also found that I really enjoyed teaching and explaining things to others, especially through videos. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and the lockdown began, I decided to start a YouTube channel dedicated to sharing what I had learned, inspired by the same channels that taught me how to code a few years earlier. Over the year, I created videos teaching and reviewing AP Computer Science content to fellow high schoolers. Some of my APCS videos have been watched nearly 50,000 times, and I am extremely grateful to have found my passion for teaching through this experience during COVID.

This leads me to where I am today! At UNC, I have had the chance to take numerous interesting courses (both in computer science and in other disciplines), explore my passion for teaching through serving as an Undergraduate Teaching Assistant and Instructor, work on exciting software engineering projects, and most of all, meet amazing people and professors!

If you are interested in connecting, feel free to reach out at agandecha@unc.edu!

- Ajay