Instructors

Photo of Brett Wortzman

Office Hours

Tuesdays 12:30pm-1:30pm
Wednesdays 11:30am-12:30pm
All office hours held in CSE 542

Brett Wortzman he/him

brettwo@cs

Hi, I’m Brett! I grew up outside of Boston, MA and moved to Seattle after college. I earned my B.A. in Computer Science from Harvard University and my M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from UW. This is my eighth year teaching in the Allen School. Before I came here, I developed curriculum and trained teachers for Microsoft’s TEALS program, taught CS at Issaquah High School, and worked as a developer at Microsoft. Outside of teaching, I am a high school football official, a frequent volunteer at local FIRST Robotics events, and an avid board game and RPG player.


Photo of Miya Natsuhara

Office Hours

Mondays 11:30am-12:30pm
Fridays 3:30pm-4:30pm
All office hours held in CSE 460 and on Zoom

Miya Natsuhara she/her/hers

mnats@cs

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.

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

Photo of Amy Shrivastava

Amy Shrivastava she/her/hers

amyshriv@uw

Hi, I’m Amy! I’m a senior majoring in Computer Science and minoring in Environmental Studies. I’m thrilled to be your TA this quarter! Outside of school, I love crocheting, reading, and sewing (basically any activity I can do while warm and cozy under a blanket). Looking forward to meeting y’all!


Photo of Andras Marto

Andras Marto he/him/his

amarto@uw

Hey everybody! My name is Andras, and I am a junior here at UW studying Computer Science. In my free time, I enjoy working out, listening to music, and playing some poker. Excited to meet you all!


Photo of Arohan Agate

Arohan Agate he/him/his

aagate@uw

Hi, I’m Arohan! I am a second-year majoring in computer science, and I’m from Bellevue, Washington. In my free time, I enjoy watching and playing basketball, listening to music and podcasts, and hanging out with friends. I look forward to meeting you all this quarter; don’t hesitate to reach out!


Photo of Audrey Lin

Audrey Lin she/her/hers

alin24@cs

Hi there, I’m Audrey! I’m a senior majoring in computer science with a minor in music and math. In addition to being a TA, I’m a violinist, cyclist, and video game lover. Looking forward to a great quarter with everyone!


Photo of Benoit Le

Benoit Le he/him/his

ble424@uw

Hi everyone! I’m Benoit and I’m a second-year student studying Computer Science here at UW. Outside of school, I’ve been getting into running and love to travel (especially to try all the delicious foods :D ). I’m so excited to be back TAing for CSE 123 this quarter and I can’t wait to meet all of you in lecture and section!


Photo of Chris Ma

Chris Ma he/him/his

char1sma@uw

Hi everyone! My name is Chris and I’m from Redmond, WA. This is my first quarter being a TA, so I’m super excited to meet you all. Outside of school, I love to rock climb (bouldering specifically), play violin, spend time with my dog Milo, and five stack with friends. I’m looking forward to working with all of you this quarter!


Photo of Cora Supasatit

Cora Supasatit she/her/hers

corasup@cs

Cora is a second-year computer science student, hailing from Renton WA. 123 was her favorite course in the intro series, and she is excited to TA for it this quarter. When let out of her changing pod in the IPL, Cora spends her free time playing the guitar, horsing around, and brainstorming ways to make her hair more voluminous. She is chatty by nature and greatly encourages any questions or conversation. Please.


Photo of Cynthia Pan

Cynthia Pan she/her/hers

ypan4@cs

Hiii everyone! I’m Cynthia, a senior double majoring in Computer Science and Applied Mathematics. When I’m not coding, you’ll probably find me playing the piano or listening to some K-pop. Also, as a polyglot, I’m always on my way to learning new languages. This is my 5th quarter TAing for CSE12X, super excited to get to know all of you! :D


Photo of Dixon

Dixon he/him/his

dixontan@uw

Hey there! I’m Dixon (you probably guessed that)! Lowkey they ask us to write this every quarter and every time I have no clue what to put 😅… My favorite superhero is spider-man. The quote I most recently thought of was “I’ve played these games before!” This’ll be my 4th quarter TAing! And, I initially became a TA because my friends told me I should apply, but now, despite the countless sleepless nights I’ve spent grading, I’m still a TA because helping YOU matters to me more than spider-man 🙃


Photo of Eeshani Shilamkar

Eeshani Shilamkar she/her/hers

eeshanis@uw

Hii, I’m Eeshani! I’m a third year studying Electrical and Computer Engineering. My concentration is in ML and I’m interested in H.C.I as well. Outside of school, I primarily spend my time dancing. I’m a dance captain for The Kompany (UW RSO)! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions about the course, CS, or anything in general! Super excited to meet and work with y’all :>


Photo of Hayden Feeney

Hayden Feeney he/him/his

hbfeeney@uw

I’m Hayden, I’m a 3rd year here at UW studying computer science. I’ve enjoyed being a 123 TA for 5 quarters now, and hope to continue doing so. One other course I’d recommend taking at UW is EDUC 215. Please ask me about it if you’d like to know why! Looking forward to learning alongside you!


Photo of Helena Zheng

Helena Zheng she/her/hers

helenaz9@uw

Hi everyone! My name is Helena and I’m a sophomore majoring in computer science and minoring in business. In my free time, I love to craft, travel, and bake/cook. Looking forward to a great quarter with you all!


Photo of Isayiah Lim

Isayiah Lim he/him/his

ilim27@uw

Hey y’all! My name’s Isayiah and I’m a second-year studying Computer Science with a minor in Business. In my free time, I enjoy hooping, lifting weights, reading, and playing poker. I’m excited for a great quarter of 123 and look forward to meeting you all!


Photo of Jessica Massey

Jessica Massey she/her/hers

jfm2003@uw

Hello! My name is Jessica and I am a junior studying computer science, business, and honors. I enjoy traveling, eating, and dancing. I’m excited to meet everyone!


Photo of Johnathan Chi

Johnathan Chi he/him/his

johnchi@uw

Hi everyone! I’m Johnathan currently a third-year studying CS and this is my first time TAing! In my free time, I Iove to play badminton, go running, and play brawl stars. I’m looking forward to getting to know you all, and always feel free to reach out to me for any reason at all!


Photo of Kavya Nair

Kavya Nair she/her/hers

knair07@uw

Hi, I’m Kavya! I’m a junior studying Computer Science and this is my fifth quarter TAing. Outside of classes, I love skiing, singing, and traveling the world with my family. Some of my favorite musical artists are Metro Boomin, CAS, The Weeknd, and The Neighborhood. I look forward to meeting you all this quarter!


Photo of Kieran Rullman

Kieran Rullman

krullman@uw

Hi! I’m Kieran, and I’m a junior majoring in ACMS. I’m from Portland OR, and I started at UW in fall 2024 after transferring from Portland Community College. Outside of school, I enjoy reading, knitting, and sewing. I’m excited to work with everyone this term!


Photo of Lawrence Wang

Lawrence Wang he/him/his

lwang42@uw

Hi! I’m Lawrence, and I am from Mukilteo, WA. I’m a sophmore in Computer Science, and this is my fourth quarter TAing this class. In my free time, I like hitting the gym and cooking. Excited for a great quarter!


Photo of Liza Zakharova

Liza Zakharova she/her/hers

lizazak@uw

Hello everyone, I’m Liza and I am so excited to be TAing CSE 123 again! I am a senior studying CS and this will be my fifth quarter as a TA. Outside of school, I enjoy climbing, running, and binge-watching random tv-shows. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you ever have questions or just want to chat!


Photo of Neha Aitharaju

Neha Aitharaju she/her/hers

nehaa24@cs

HI!! My name is Neha, I am a junior in CS and super excited to TA 123 this quarter. In my free time I teach yoga, dance, and loove finding new bagel spots to try out! Can’t wait to meet all of you :)


Photo of Nichole Tian

Nichole Tian she/her/hers

ntian@uw

Hii! I’m Nichole and I’m so excited to be one of your TAs this quarter :)) When I’m not scheming TA schemes, I love listening to music, playing tennis, cooking, knitting & crocheting, sleeping, traveling, and so much more. I can’t wait to see all the great things you guys will do this quarter!


Photo of Nick Chung

Nick Chung he/him/his

nschung@uw

Hi! My name is Nick and I am going to be one of your TAs this quarter! Looking forward to meeting everyone!


Photo of Packard Stephenson

Packard Stephenson

psteph@uw

Hey, I’m Packard! I’m a sophomore majoring in Computer Science and minoring in Physics. I really love playing bass guitar, going to the gym, and playing/watching baseball (my playing days may be behind me unfortunately). This is my first quarter TA‘ing and I can’t wait to get started and meet all of you!


Photo of Rohan Simon Shanthanu

Rohan Simon Shanthanu he/him/his

rshanth@uw

Hi! I’m Rohan and I’m a junior studying CS. This is my 4th time TAing CSE 123 so reach out any time! Outside of school, I spend my time staring at the sun. I also paint, code, and play guitar, but those aren’t as important. Looking forward to meeting everyone:)


Photo of Rushil Arun

Rushil Arun he/him/his

rarun1@uw

Hi! I’m Rushil, and I’m a freshman studying Computer Science. In my free time, I enjoy scrolling on Strava, watching basketball breakdowns, and being outside. Excited to meet you all!


Photo of Sean Eglip

Sean Eglip

seglip@uw

Hey everyone! My name is Sean and I’m a sophomore studying Computer Engineering. In my freetime I enjoy running, lifting, hooping and wakesurfing. I also enjoy watching sports, especially basketball and football. Looking forward to meeting you all this quarter!


Photo of Shreya Pandey

Shreya Pandey she/her/hers

shreya25@uw

Hi everyone! I’m Shreya, and I’m a second year majoring in Computer Science. This will be my second quarter as a TA, and I’m super excited to get to know all of you :) In my free time, I love to paint with watercolors, watch Bollywood movies, and try new desserts.


Photo of Srihari Krishnaswamy

Srihari Krishnaswamy he/him/his

srihari@uw

Hi, I’m Srihari and I’m a junior CS major, and I’m super excited to meet everyone! It’s my third quarter TAing 123, and I love to talk about sports, movies and music. Have a great quarter!


Photo of Trien Vuong

Trien Vuong he/him/his

mtrienv@uw

Hey y’all! My name’s Trien, and I’m currently a Junior majoring in Computer Science. In my free time, I mainly enjoy playing video games (currently waiting for Monster Hunter Wilds to release), watching shows, and eating delicious food. This is my seventh quarter TAing CSE 123, and I’m super excited to get to know y’all.

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.

  • 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.

  • 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 & Brett, you can instead email Miya & Brett if that makes you feel more comfortable. Note that the response time for the instructors’ email is longer than posting on the Ed board.