Getting Help¶
Having questions or getting stuck on something is entirely expected in the learning process. If you find something challenging with your studies, that is a sign you are learning! Learning is not something that you need to do alone though! In fact, connecting with your peers or asking a member of the course staff for help can add extreme depth to your knowledge.
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Synchronous Help (Office Hours): One place to go to get help is our Office Hours hosted throughout the week. TAs staff office hours for many hours a day to provide you the help you need when you need it! This is a great place to go if you want to review a particular course concept, work on a practice problem with the help of a TA or your peers, or get help on a Creative Project or Programming Assignment if you are running into difficulties.
Tip
A common misconception is that you can only go to office hours with specific homework questions. That is not true! If you have any questions about course concepts (e.g., from class that day), you are super encouraged to go work on that concept with a member of the course staff at office hours! Getting help with a concept earlier, when you first are feeling unsure, is much better than saving it until you need it on the homework.
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Asynchronous Help (Ed Discussion): With a class of our size, directly emailing a member of the course staff is not always recommended. There are many of you and only few of us, so if you email one person directly we can’t make a guarantee how quickly we can respond! To alleviate this one-on-one communication of email, we have a course discussion board that will be a much more lively place for discussion and a way to make sure you can are helped more quickly. The message board is set up so that all of the course staff can help you, which will make it more likely for you to receive a quicker response!
Ed Tips
- If you are asking a general question about the course logistics or content, you can make a public post. This way other students can benefit from seeing your question, and you can even answer each other’s questions to share your perspectives!
- If you want, you can choose to post anonymously so that other students in the course can’t see your name. Note that anonymous posting does not hide your identity from the course staff.
- You’re encouraged to answer each other’s questions as well! Explaining a topic to someone else (even on a discussion board) is a great way to help you better understand the material. The course staff will still look over student answers and can nicely point out some misconception if there is one so that everyone benefits.
- If you have a question that’s pretty specific to your homework solution, or, is about some personal details that you would not want to share with the class (e.g., DRS accommodations), you can make a private post on Ed that is only visible to the course staff. This way, any member of the staff can respond to get you the help you need!
- For sensitive matters that you only want to discuss with Miya, you can instead email Miya if that makes you feel more comfortable. Note that the response time for the instructors’ email is longer than posting on the Ed board.
- If you are asking a general question about the course logistics or content, you can make a public post. This way other students can benefit from seeing your question, and you can even answer each other’s questions to share your perspectives!
Instructors¶
Miya Natsuhara she/her/hers
Hi all, I’m Miya! I’ve lived in various parts of the Seattle area for all of my life (Renton, Bellevue, Downtown Seattle) and now live in West Seattle. We’ve been considered a temporary island out here for the past 2.5 years as the West Seattle Bridge has been closed but it’s recently opened so we are happy to reunite with the greater Seattle area!
I graduated with a BA in Mathematics along with a BS and MS in Computer Science from the Allen School here at UW. I had no knowledge of programming or Computer Science when I started at UW, and only very reluctantly took the first Introduction to Programming class when pressured by my family to give it a try. When I enjoyed the class more than I expected, I went on to take the next class in the sequence and then became a TA for these classes the following quarter. I continued to TA for these classes throughout my undergrad and grad school. After I graduated I spent about 2 years as a Software Engineer at Microsoft on the Visual C++ Libraries Team before returning my focus to teaching to spend more time with you all!
Outside of teaching, I spend lots of time with my objectively-adorable fluffy tricolor corgi Gumball and enjoy experimenting with new baking challenges and cozy knitting projects. Looking forward to a fantastic quarter with you all - please feel free to stop by and chat!
Teaching Assistants¶
Kai Daniels he/they
Hi everybody - my name is Kai and I am one of the lead TAs for 12x. Though I won’t be teaching a section, I’ll be around so if you see me say hi :3
Atharva Kashyap he/him/his
Quiz Section: AQ
Hello everyone! I am Atharva, a third-year Computer Science student. In my free time, I enjoy hiking, watching comedy shows, playing board games, and walking dogs. I am excited to meet and get to know you all this quarter!
Jasmine Chi she/her/hers
Quiz Section: AM
Hi everyone, I’m Jasmine! I’m currently a second-year here at UW, and I’m really excited to be a TA for CSE 121 this quarter. Outside of school, I love reading new books(always open to book suggestions!), hiking around Washington, and trying new baking recipes. I’m also a pretty big fan of F1! I’m always here to support you guys and advocate for your success in this class so really feel free to reach out about anything that comes up throughout the quarter :) Can’t wait to get to know everyone!
Julia Kharchenko she/her/hers
Quiz Section: AP
Hi everyone !! This will be my first time TAing CSE 121 and I’m so excited to be here)) I’m currently a sophomore in CS and Info and am really passionate about working to develop NLP in Slavic languages, especially Ukrainian! I’m always free to talk about anything, from cool CS topics to Eurovision) I can’t wait to get to know all of you throughout the quarter! :-) (P.S. I’m always down for cat photos and Eurovision rants sent to my email too..)
Justin Ung he/him/his
Quiz Section: AE
Hi everyone, my name is Justin. I grew up in the greater Seattle area and have been here my whole life. In my free time, I enjoy playing TFT, reading manga/manhwa, and lap swimming ( IMA pool closed tho >.< ) Recently, I’ve been having so much fun going on long walks with friends. This will be my 6th and last quarter TAing and I look forward to meeting you all :D
Kailey Tou she/her/hers
Quiz Section: AF
Hello! I’m Kailey, a senior studying Computer Science. I grew up in the Seattle area and have been here my whole life. In my free time, I like reading, playing Animal Crossing, and going out for long walks while listening to podcasts or music. If you have any questions or want to chat, feel free to stop by my IPL hours! Looking forward to a great quarter with you all :D
Lydia Li she/her/hers
Hi, I’m Lydia! I’m a sophomore in CS and this is my third quarter TAing. In my free time, I enjoy watching cat videos, listening/dancing to Kpop, and exploring good restaurants with friends. Super excited to meet you all this quarter!
Shananda Dokka she/her/hers
Hey! My name is Shananda, pronounced sha-nin-da! I am a junior majoring in Computer Science and Economics. This is my eight quarter as a CSE TA. I was born in Singapore and lived there for seven years. In Singapore and after moving to Seattle, I’ve grown up around birds, and right now I have the cutest parakeet in the world. Some of my favorite pastimes are rowing, dance, and watching movies! Excited to work with y’all this quarter!
Afifah Kashif she/her/hers
Quiz Section: AT
Hi!! I’m Afifah, I’m a pre-law freshman studying CS. Outside of class, I enjoy spending time with friends, exploring rocketry and going hiking. This is my second quarter as a CSE 121 TA and I’m very excited to meet you all :) I know CS seems daunting at first and am no stranger to imposter syndrome, so I’m here if you ever want to chat!
Aishah Vakil she/her/hers
Quiz Section: AS
Hi! I’m Aishah and I’m a second year majoring in Computer Science. In my free time, I love making playlists, drinking coffee, and getting outside. I’ve been a TA for a few quarters now but this is my first quarter with 12x! I’m excited to meet you all and don’t hesitate to reach out to chat about anything :)
Anju Lam she/her/hers
Quiz Section: AA
Hi, I’m Anju! I’m from Malaysia and I’m a junior majoring in Computer Science. Outside of school, I like to bake, watch anime, and hangout with friends. I also really enjoy cafe hopping so hit me up if you ever want to catch coffee together! This will be my fifth quarter TAing and I’m super excited to get to know all of you :)
Archit Patankar he/him/his
Quiz Section: AR
Hi everyone, I’m Archit! I’m from Redmond, WA and I’m a second-year student majoring in CS and minoring in entrepreneurship. Aside from school, I love watching, playing and talking sports, whether it be football, basketball, soccer, cricket, or F1. I also love traveling and watching new TV/movies. I’m very excited to be TAing this quarter and hope to be able to meet all of you sometime :)
Claire Wang she/her/hers
Quiz Section: AH
Hi! I’m Claire and I’m a freshman studying computer science. I’m from Bellevue, Washington and this is my first quarter TAing. Outside of class, I like to paint, game with friends, drink questionable amounts of tea, and do archery. Excited to meet everyone this quarter :)
Grace Shin she/her/hers
Quiz Section: AI
Hi everyone, I’m Grace, and I’m a third year studying business! I’ve been living in Bellevue for the past several years, but I mostly grew up in Canada and Korea. Outside of class, I like to watch movies, read, and walk around museums/parks. Looking forward to meeting everyone :)
Hugh March he/him/his
Quiz Section: AG
Hi everyone, I’m Hugh, and I’m a second year studying computer science from Olympia, WA. Outside of school I enjoy working out and playing the piano. Feel to reach out, I’d love to talk about anything CS-related or not! Excited to meet everyone this quarter :)
Jacqueline Jou she/her/hers
Quiz Section: AN
Hey!! I’m Jacqueline and I’m in my 3rd year at UW. I was born and raised in the PNW but I never know what to do here, so feel free to chat with me about anything fun you like to do in the area! I just came back from a semester studying abroad in Switzerland so I will be having major study abroad withdrawals :(. Can’t wait to meet you all!!
James Try he/him/his
Quiz Section: AD
Hello! My name is James and I grew up in Federal Way, WA. Currently, I’m a junior majoring in Computer Science. Outside of school related things, I enjoy playing games, watching anime, listening to music (current favorites are Yves Tumor, Rina Sawayama, Tyler the Creator, and Isaiah Rashad) and am currently getting back into bboying. I’m looking forward to being a TA for your introduction to coding and meeting everyone this quarter!
Jonus Li he/him/his
Quiz Section: AO
Hey, my name is Jonus! I’m a third year student majoring in CS. I love to spend my time exploring all kinds of music, walking around in nice parks, and doing sports like basketball and badminton. This is my 3rd time being a 121 TA and I’m super excited to work with you and have a wonderful quarter together. Looking forward to getting to know y’all in the sections! :)
Josh Tran he/him
Quiz Section: AL
My name is Josh, and I’m looking forward to being your TA for 121 this quarter! Outside of computer science, I love wrestling, drawing, and going out for tea with friends.
Larry Jing he/him/his
Quiz Section: AC
Hi everyone, I’m Larry! I’m a junior studying CS and I’m really excited to work with you all this quarter! Outside of class, I like photography, cooking, and making cool stuff – feel free to ask me about random projects I’ve worked on in the past! Looking forward to meeting you all in person :D
Lydia Xue she/her/hers
Quiz Section: AJ
Hi, My name is Lydia! I’m from China, and I’m a sophomore majoring in Computer Science. This is my second quarter of TAing and I’m super excited to meet you all! Outside of the school, I love photography, cooking, and listening to music. I am also a cat lover and I have two cats at home in China named Baobao and HanHan :D
Mia Onodera she/her/hers
Quiz Section: AK
Hi everyone, I’m Mia! I’m currently a sophomore studying Electrical and Computer Engineering. I’m interested in exploring accessibility within technology. Outside of classes, I enjoy playing Genshin, weightlifting, and learning new languages.
I am excited to meet everyone in person! If you have any questions or want to chat, feel free to email me anytime.
Vidhi Jain she/her/hers
Quiz Section: AB
Hello, my name is Vidhi Jain! Currently, I am a junior majoring in Computer Science. I was born in India and moved to Seattle in 2012. I love the rainy/cold weather of Seattle. :)) I have TAed for CSE 142 (the old course) multiple times, but it’s going to be my second time teaching CSE 121! Outside of college, I enjoy watching new TV shows, spending time with my family/friends, and exploring new food places. I am excited and looking forward to meeting and working with everyone!!