Getting Help¶
Having questions or getting stuck on something is entirely expected and a very normal part 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.
Info
Some details about the IPL and office hours TBD.
- Synchronous Help (Office Hours): One place to go to get help is our Office Hours located in the Introductory Programming Lab (IPL). TAs staff the IPL 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 one of the take-home assessments if you are running into difficulties.
- Hunter also has his own office hours that you’re encouraged to stop by in-person or remotely!
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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 get 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!
Here are a couple tips on using EdStem:
- 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!
- 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 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.
- 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 Hunter, you can instead email Hunter if that makes you feel more comfortable.
- 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!
Instructor¶
Hi there! 
My name is Hunter! I’ve lived in Seattle for almost my whole life after a brief stint in Alaska, where I was born, and a couple of years in Minnesota. I did my undergrad and masters here at UW in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, and now, I work here full-time on the Allen School faculty!
Funnily enough, I had absolutely no idea what computer science was when I started at UW. I took CSE 142 on a whim and enjoyed it enough to continue on to CSE 143, but not enough to commit to it as a field of study. It wasn’t until I became a teaching assistant for the 14x series did I really find my passion for computer science: teaching computer science. Since then, I’ve shaped my college and post-college career around teaching computer science. Since graduating with my masters, I’ve worked here at the Allen School as a Teaching Professor.
Outside of school and work, I usually spend most of my time hanging out with friends: just enjoying quality time or going out and exploring new restaurants and coffee shops. While living through the inside-times, I’ve tried to make a routine with some of my available free time: I’ve gotten into reading and cooking more regularly, I started practicing yoga, and I even tried my hand at streaming on Twitch (all while drinking questionably unhealthy amounts of coffee).
Talk with me about your favorite coffee shops or restaurants around Seattle, I’m always looking for new places to check out! Good book, podcast, or game recommendations are great too!
Teaching Assistants¶
Sanjana Sathyanarayanan she/her
Head Teaching Assistant
Hi I’m Sanjana! I’m from Seattle and I’m a senior studying CS! Besides being a 143 fanatic, I also help run my dance team UW Kahaani. In my free time I love singing, traveling, cooking, and binging TV :) Excited for a great quarter!
Anson Huang he/him
Quiz Section: EA
Hello everyone! My name is Anson! I’m a third year studying political science and computer science. I grew up in Renton, WA – just 25 minutes south of Seattle – where I attended Renton High School. Like Hunter, I had no idea what Computer Science was until I took CSE 142 with Brett during my first year here at the UW. The creativity, flexibility, problem solving, and the possibilities of creating helpful technologies is what drew me into CS.
Outside of school, I like to watch anime, play basketball, and cooking. My favorite anime and the undisputed GOAT of anime is One Piece. If you are all caught up and want to talk about theories or just reflect on our favorite scenes, hit me up!
One fun fact about me is that I’m a self-taught barber! I’ve been cutting hair since my sophomore year of high school and it’s been something I’ve done on the side ever since.
Connor Aksama he/him
Quiz Section: EB
Hello! I’m Connor, I’m a second-year CS major from Duvall, WA. In addition to Computer Science, some of my favorite things are cooking, playing music, Minecraft, and the TV series Community. Feel free to come and ask me about the memory hierarchy and avocados, my favorite Technoblade moments, The Darkest Timeline, or come catch me on the Husky Marching Band drumline!
Effie Zheng she/her
Quiz Section: EF
Hi! My name is Effie and I’m a sophomore studying computer science. I’m super excited to be TAing this course for a second time! My hobbies include learning languages (hoping to learn Japanese or German next!), reading, and exploring new music. I also have a huge sweet tooth, especially when it comes to chocolate and boba :) Please let me know if there is anything I can do this quarter to help improve your experience in this course!
Melody Lam she/her
Quiz Section: EH
Hi everyone, I’m Melody and this is my fifth quarter as an intro TA :)) Lately I’ve been trying to read more instead of spending all my time on TikTok, so if you have any book recommendations, let me know!! I also love to cook, play mahjong, and travel! I’m looking forward to an unusual but fun quarter with all of you!
Omar Ibrahim he/they
Quiz Section: EC
Hey y’all, I’m Omar. I completed my undergrad in Computer Science at UW last year, and I’m currently a Masters student in the Paul G. Allen School for Computer Science! I spent about 3 years of my undergrad as a Teaching Assistant teaching Computer Science classes, and I’m excited to be back teaching intro again! I’m very passionate about CS education and ethics research, and I’m happy to talk about either anytime!
Other than school/work, I really enjoy cooking, music, and video games, among other things. As of writing this, I recently baked some pita bread, and have been working on learning the guitar to add to my list of instruments I play. I’ve mostly been playing a lot of Hades for about the last year, and it is absolutely my favorite game (and I will talk on end about it if given the chance). I’m looking forward to getting to know y’all!
Soham Pardeshi he/him
Quiz Section: ED
Hey! I’m a student studying Philosophy and CS. I love thinking and talking about the intersection of these two fields, especially the intersection of epistemology and classical topics in AI. If you ever want to chat about this, let me know!
I also enjoy reading and listening to audiobooks. Recently, I’ve added a lot of adventure/fantasy novels to my audiobook library. Feel free to give me recommendations if you have any 🙂