A proud MAT 1630 moment: when a former student became the “guest panelist” we didn’t plan

This week, something happened in MAT 1630 that reminded me exactly why my colleagues and I do this work.

During class, while my students were working on an activity, I stepped out briefly—and I ran into a familiar face in the hallway: a former student from our department.

She graduated with honors this past summer. She was a mathematics student, worked with me on a machine learning research project, and now she’s starting a master’s program in mathematics at NYU Courant, one of the most respected places in the world to study math.

I made a quick, spontaneous decision.

I asked her if she could stop by the classroom for a few minutes and talk to my current students. She said yes.

What happened next turned into something I didn’t plan, but honestly couldn’t have designed any better.

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The Best Panels Are Sometimes Improvised

The last part of class became a mini “panel experience.”

My students jumped in with real questions, the kind students actually want answers to:

• How did you get from City Tech to a top graduate program?
• What is the workload really like?
• How many hours do you study each week?
• How do you stay focused and consistent?
• What do you do when things get difficult?

She answered with honesty and confidence.

She didn’t make it sound easy. She talked about discipline, learning how to manage time, and staying committed even when motivation isn’t there.

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A Moment I Won’t Forget

One of the things that moved me the most was when she said something very personal:

She told me she once wanted to follow my path—“to be like me”—and that in a way, she’s now doing exactly what she said she would do back when I first interviewed her for a seminar and workshop I co-organized with colleagues from Utah.

That hit me.

Not because it was about me—but because it showed how powerful it is when students can see a future and then work their way toward it step by step.

She’s not just dreaming about the next level. She’s doing the work to reach it.

And she’s already talking about her next goal: a Ph.D. in Mathematics!

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“Don’t Listen to People Who Underestimate You”

She also shared advice that my students needed to hear:

Don’t listen to people who underestimate you.

Some people will assume you can’t do it. Some people will try to limit you based on what they think is realistic.

But you are the one who decides what is possible.

Then you prove it through your actions.

She also spoke about being an immigrant and an ESL student—and how she never stopped believing in herself.

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Why This Matters at City Tech

My colleagues and I do what we do because we want to see students graduate, succeed, and go further than they thought they could.

This was one of my proud moments of the year, because my current students got to meet someone who walked the path they’re on right now—and is already opening the next door.

Sometimes students need more than encouragement. They need examples. They need proof that it can happen.

This was proof.

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To My Students Reading This

Dream big.

But don’t stop there.

Work for it.

Stay consistent.

Ask questions.

Seek mentors.

And when someone tells you it’s not possible—remember: you are the one who decides what’s possible.

Teaching with Google Colab + Private GitHub Repos

This semester in MAT 1630 I tried a small change that made a big difference: I created a private GitHub repository for each student and added them as the sole collaborator, then had them work in Google Colab and submit via a pull request. Everything happens in the browser, every step is a click, and yet students are quietly learning real professional habits—commits, branches, pull requests, merges—without touching a command line.

The day-to-day is simple. Students open my Colab notebook, work through the exercises, and when they’re ready, choose File → Save a copy to GitHub. On GitHub they press the big green button to open a pull request, and then merge. On my side, each pull request becomes a clean, time-stamped submission with a place to leave feedback. Because I own the repositories, nothing gets lost, I can always see the work, and the record is there if we need to revisit grading or progress later on.

Why Google Colab clicks with students

• No setup, no stress: opens in a browser—no installs, no configuration, works on Chromebooks and shared lab machines.
• Autosave peace of mind: work is saved to Google Drive, so nothing vanishes with a laptop hiccup.
• Clear, beautiful results: run cells, see output immediately, add explanations in Markdown or LaTeX.
• Easy help: sharing a notebook link makes quick coaching in class painless.

Why private repos owned by the instructor help everyone

• Reliable access: I keep ownership, so submissions don’t disappear if a student changes settings or accounts.
• One tidy place: consistent naming and structure make reviewing and grading faster.
• Natural feedback loop: pull requests are built-in checkpoints for comments and review.
• Privacy by default: student work stays private, and GitHub masks personal emails with a no-reply address.

The submission flow students actually follow

1. Open the assignment in Google Colab.
2. Work through the notebook and verify outputs.
3. Choose File → Save a copy to GitHub and select their private repo.
4. On GitHub, click Compare & pull request, then Create pull request, then Merge.

What I appreciate most is how this nudges students to see programming as collaboration. They start to understand version control as a normal part of the process: small commits, clear messages, respectful reviews. It also happens to be free—private GitHub repos and Colab are both zero-cost—and it keeps everyone’s personal email private. For instructors, the setup is sustainable because once the repositories are created, everything else runs smoothly: students submit with a few clicks, feedback happens directly on GitHub, and there’s no need to chase files or manage endless attachments. The workflow stays organized, low-maintenance, and easy to reuse each semester, which lets us focus our energy on teaching, not on handling logistics in classes with a coding component.

Welcome Back, Fall 2025

What I’m Teaching (and why I’m excited)

Intro to Computer Science (Python)

I started teaching Intro to CS this semester and I’m keeping the momentum going. We’ll learn to solve problems by thinking first and coding second. Expect small, meaningful projects that build real skills, live coding in class with my inevitable typos and quick fixes, and lots of practice turning a messy idea into a clean plan before we touch the keyboard. If we do it right, you’ll feel your problem-solving muscles getting stronger each week.

Discrete Structures

In Discrete, we’re in the middle of propositional logic: truth tables, connectives, and the whole toolkit for precise thinking. Students already completed their first group activity, and it was great watching people learn each other’s names while debating whether one statement is truly equivalent to another. I’m sticking with the Socratic method, asking more questions, keeping explanations short, and giving space to wrestle with ideas out loud.

Why This Work Feels Big

I’ve been thinking about our mission at City Tech. We’re here to support and uplift a new generation of students so they can flourish in school, at work, and in life. I’m lucky to be around colleagues who are strong researchers and who also believe in giving back and paying it forward. That kind of community keeps me grounded and pushes me to show up better for my students.

What You’ll See on This Blog

Expect class updates and project highlights, little teaching wins along with the flops we learn from, Python tips and discrete math nuggets, and thoughts about learning, belonging, and building confidence.

If you’re in my classes, welcome. Bring your questions and your curiosity. If you’re reading from afar, I’m glad you’re here too. Here’s to a semester of clear thinking, kind collaboration, and code that finally runs after that one missing parenthesis.

4-week summer intense precalculus course...an enthusiastic, refreshing and fun crowd!

I decided to teach a four-week summer class this year. Sometimes I had doubts because I usually use the summer months to do research in a more relaxed way. However, I wanted to try an intensive four-week course, teaching from 8:30 am to 11:08 am with office hours afterward. I must say, it was incredibly fun. The students were enthusiastic about learning. Some were very expressive about their concerns regarding the exams, and one student even placed his hand on his heart in relief when I mentioned that I wouldn't ask them to sketch complicated graphs. More than a quarter of the class were outstanding individuals with a very positive attitude toward learning. Some of them took my feedback very seriously, improving the way they wrote their solutions and articulated their ideas in general. They were engaged, and some of them want to continue working with me on a project. I observed significant growth by the end of the course and was moved by a letter they sent to the chair of my department, requesting me as a calculus instructor in the fall semester. They mentioned being impressed by my teaching methodology, depth of knowledge, and ability to make complex mathematical concepts comprehensible. One of my students even mentioned that my passion for teaching and genuine care for their progress was truly inspiring. We had so much fun, laughs, and interesting discussions. It created a beautiful summer memory that ended with an endearing letter. It makes me realize why I chose to take the academic path. Perhaps I am influencing other lives in a positive way. I am sharing an image of the letter, concealing identities to respect their privacy. I am truly grateful for having the privilege to teach these outstanding individuals. Every class, I started with a lecture but quickly moved to group activities. It was a pleasure to see students helping each other understand concepts, share ideas, and improve their problem-solving skills. This collaborative environment fostered a sense of community and mutual support among the students, which was incredibly rewarding to witness.

It has been a while: from Yoda to trigs

Our SIAM student chapter recently hosted an insightful talk by a mathematician from Brigham Young University. They delved into the mathematical principles behind animating Yoda from Star Wars, which piqued the interest of our students. Additionally, they discussed the mathematical techniques used to create more realistic snow in Frozen, which fascinated the audience. The speaker also distributed math-themed T-shirts, adding a nice touch to the event. And of course, we enjoyed some pizza together afterward. These experiences are helping to build a sense of community among our students. The recent exam on exponential and trigonometric equations highlighted the importance of practice for success. During our discussions on Yoda's animations and the creation of realistic snow in Frozen, students were engaged in understanding the technical aspects behind these iconic cinematic elements. With spring break now here, I look forward to grading and pursuing research opportunities before returning to class.

Students lost track of time on Tuesday! Ants are not controversial...

This last class, we focused on solving exponential and logarithmic equations and discussing the properties of log functions to facilitate solving such equations. We concluded by delving into exponential growth models and illustrating population growth/decay through examples. During a group conversation, one student mentioned reading about the maximum population Earth can sustain. Another student countered, stating there wasn't enough supply. This sparked a thought in me; I vocalized that numerous areas worldwide remain unpopulated while cities suffer from overpopulation, leading me to question the prevailing alarm regarding population growth. Further discussion ensued when another student argued that there isn't enough food to support the population, prompting another to interject that there's actually a considerable amount of food wastage and potential to produce more with current technology. This led to a discussion on GMOs. What began as a precalculus class morphed into a thought-provoking conversation, which I found quite amusing. I then prompted them to consider an ant population problem to steer clear of controversy. This elicited laughter from the students. Working in groups, they successfully formulated equations to determine the time required for the initial ant population to triple. I typically assign students numbers and reorganize the class accordingly into groups. Observing their engrossment in discussing ideas was remarkable, especially considering that students often anticipate leaving promptly. They even stayed an extra 11 minutes! Their enthusiasm truly made my day!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/09/19/ants-population-20-quadrillion/

BYU- City tech undergraduate data science collaboration workshop, the visit, the reflections

Last week, on Thursday, March 14th, and Friday, March 15th, we had the pleasure of receiving Professor Mark Hughes from Brigham Young University (BYU) and the six students who are participating in the undergraduate data science seminar that we are running together. This was the first time that the students from BYU and our three City Tech students would meet up in person. On Thursday, Professor Hughes gave an excellent talk on how AI has been used to aid in proving mathematical propositions. We had more than 40 people attending his talk, sponsored by the Math Club on Pi Day! Most of the audience were students, and they asked very intriguing questions about neural networks and other machine learning topics. Following that, we continued with our workshop where students engaged in a neural net tutorial conducted by Professor Hughes. Students were very engaged in trying different things on the Python notebook and interacting with their peers. The next day, I gave an intro to autoencoders and showed them the general parts of a notebook I acquired for LiDAR data exploration and how to apply PCA and autoencoders to LiDAR. My student, Charlotte, presented a great summary of her NLP team project from last year, which opened very exciting discussions on Topic analysis and depression in college students. We had lunch and then brainstormed about data and topics in order to define three different teams and the passions and interests of each. I was in charge of the NLP group where many possible topics were discussed, from US elections to depression in university professors, and lastly took the direction of working on social media comments to analyze how social media affects young women's self-esteem. I was excited to see the passion of the team members since they seemed to be really concerned about the mental health issues online interactions are producing in women. The overall experience was very satisfying. I had the opportunity to hear how one of the students expressed great concern about how online communication is affecting relationships and the emotional distress of these interactions. I had an insightful conversation with one of the students while walking back from our outing in DUMBO. He mentioned that he would like to have more in-person experiences like this, where he can learn very concrete things while discussing ideas with his peers and having breaks to enjoy the social interactions. He says most of his week is about going to college and from college to work back and forth. I was happy to see that we were able to create such a positive learning experience. On my side, coming from another generation, I personally observe a dehumanization in online interactions, including emails, text messages, and apps of all kinds. This is a personal opinion, but I wonder if many people are substituting building relationships based on personal interactions with online interactions. It seems that the pandemic played an important role in this, but I wonder if the foundations of meaningful relationships can be built on these very shaky grounds. The final part of the workshop will take place in May when City Tech students and I will be visiting BYU. I am so looking forward to seeing their final presentations and enjoying Utah!