Student Shoutouts

The Department of Computer Science has the best students on campus. This monthly recognition aims to highlight CS students and the positive impact on their peers. Students are nominated by their peers. 

November 2022

Kevin Nisterenko

Jiaxi Huang nominated Kevin for recognition because "[Kevin is a] GOATED TA, very helpful at helping students, I want him in 352."
Param Patel nominated Kevin for recognition because "[Kevin is] very helpful at debugging, Helps me with hard 252 concepts!"

Katelyn Rohrer

Karissa Gold nominated Katelyn for recognition because "Katelyn is an amazing TA who goes above and beyond to assist students. Her way of explaining concepts is great and her feedback on code is always detailed and helpful. Anyone would be lucky to have her as their TA!"

Hidoyat Ruzmetov

Okhirjon Vokhidov nominated Hidoyat for recognition because "He helped me with the exam questions, and it was very useful. I learned much more information during the out-of class meetings, and I think he is the one who has to be displayed in the social media."

CSC 252 TA Team

Victoria Santos nominated the CSC 252 TA Team for recognition because "Every single TA for this class is just amazing. As a TA myself, I know how much effort it can take, and all of them have gone above and beyond all semester to help us out. They offer so many office hours, never fail to answer questions online, and are willing to go overtime to help fix a bug or teach a tricky concept. It’s also clear how passionate they are about CS, which I find to be exciting and inspiring in my own pursuit of the major. From myself and on behalf of many students I’ve talked to with the same sentiments, thank you so much, y’all rock :D".

Vatsav Sethupathi

Rey Sanayei nominated the Vatsav Team for recognition because "Vatsav is a true gem of a friend. Not only is he brilliant and hardworking, but he is always there to help others in any way he can. He is a true genius, and his dedication to everything he does is truly admirable. Vatsav is the kind of person who is always willing to go the extra mile to help out a friend in need, and his kindness and generosity never go unnoticed."

Ethan Burnett-Nguyen

Duke Speed nominated the Ethan or recognition because "Ethan has always been very helpful towards me, and exceptionally knowledgeable about heavier computing topics. He's also very good at helping people debug their code at a base level, enabling them to complete their projects faster and more effectively than they would have been able to without him. Just an overall welcoming and intelligent person that I am glad to have known."

Khojiakbar Yokubjonov

Tokhirjon Vokhidov nominated the Khojiakbar or recognition because "I asked the questions where I got very simplified answers that are understandable even for the public audience, I really liked the way of his explanation. Moreover, his approach is with respect, and kindness. I hope that people like him will increase, and will contribute to the University of Arizona."                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

October 2022

Winston Zeng

Rebekah Julicher nominated Winston for recognition because "Winston is incredibly supportive of classmates, and he's greatly assisted me and others in general understanding of difficult topics both covered in classes and otherwise, especially those in more math-related subjects."

Kari Cordes

Caroline Schwengler nominated Kari for recognition because "She is my TA for CSC110 and helped me so much in class, explained many concepts to me, and always helped make the classroom environment fun and engaging."

Rey Sanayei

Arin Khatua nominated Rey for recognition because "Rey is always willing to discuss and help me understand a problem, and he was fun to work with as a CSC 210 UGTA. He is patient and hardworking and definitely deserves a lot of success."

Rhys Davis

Arin Khatua nominated Rhys for recognition because "Rhys shared his experience in previous CSC and MATH classes which helped me decide what classes to enroll in. He is really hardworking and he inspires me to be consistent and diligent."

Jeziel Gonzalez

John Imanishimwe nominated Jeziel for recognition because "[Jeziel] helped me a lot during the CS office hours even though he was not on schedule. I was struggling to understand the indexation of my code and why my code was giving me an out of range index error...taught me through visual representation on a whiteboard to better help explain my code and why it wasn't working. I really appreciate what him and all the TA's do in helping us."

September 2022

Tuan Ngo Nguyen

Kapilan Balagopalan nominated Tuan for recognition because "[Tuan] introduced me to the football playing groups and badminton club."

Jacob Scott

Raul Davila nominated Jacob for recognition because "Jacob was extremely helpful and kind!."

Rafael Munoz-Grenier

Avram Parra nominated Rafael for recognition because "[Avram] has always helped me and others basically in school and super complex stuff like automata theory, I can 100% say he has always been clutch since high school."

Tom John Giallanza

Adam Fehse nominated Tom for recognition because "Tom is always willing to help, sit down and discuss problems, and epitomizes the idea that teamwork makes the dreamwork."

Yao Zhao

Kapilan Balagopalan nominated Yao for recognition because "[Yao helped] me on getting an office desktop, credit card and sometimes help to understand the research concepts."

April 2022

Miguel Rodriguez

Cai Gutman nominated Miguel for recognition because "[Miguel] has helped me understand challenging programming topics. He is very patient and understanding with students he helps. His enthusiasm is contagious!"

March 2022

Aidan Dinunzio

Cole Freddman nominated Aidan for recognition because "[Aidan] helped me figure out minors."

February 2022

Nate Teku

Alyssa Yanez nominated Nate for recognition because "[Nate} works really hard and is very humble. Nate has so much potential!"

January 2022

Elaina Ryan

Julia Ryan nominated Elaina for recognition because "Elaina has consistently been amazingly helpful and intelligent in everything she does, or what you may need from her. She's patient and always willing to help and make sure that you can actually grasp the concept; she really does care about the content as well as whoever she may be assisting. She never ceases to amaze me...my gratitude is absolutely through the roof for her." 

Zachary Florez

Jessica Hernandez nominated Zhachary for recognition for "... receiving an offer for a full-time position with American Express as a Software Engineer starting August! Zach has worked so hard and has been involved with clubs on campus such as SHPE. He also interned as a software engineer this past summer with a company named Doma!"

Caroline Hyland

Nimet (Beyza) Bozdag nominated Caroline for recognition because "Caroline is a very positive, helpful and approachable person! She is a great Course Coordinator who is always there to answer both the students and the TAs questions. Apart from that, she is also really passionate about CS and will help you figure things out about your interests with thought out responses."

Kapua Ioane

Davlat Urolov nominated Kapua for recognition because "Kapua is such an excellent peer, always eager to help and share thoughts on different questions"

Nicholas Bell

Davlat Urolov nominated Nicholas for recognition because "[Nicholas is] always helpful, especially when it comes to question regarding hardware of Apple products."

November 2021

Connie Sun

Luke Hankins nominated Connie for recognition because "Connie's calm, confident approach to C.S. curriculum and university studies in general challenged me to find the same in myself....she became a role model I could follow and have found my expectations for myself, my ambitions and my work ethic grow with each new semester. My college experience and education would not be the same without Connie."

Khojiakbar Yokubjonov

Liam Frazier nominated Khojiakbar for recognition because " [Khojiakbar] has helped me understand a lot of concepts throughout the course, and was the most active TA that I interacted with."

October 2021

Connor Scully-Allison

Hoang Van nominated Connor for recognition because "During my comprehensive preparation, [Connor] helped me with the tips and process of how I should form the proposal. In particular, he suggested me to discuss (early) the idea with my advisor and keep them as open, constructing, and productive as possible. At the end, everything works out well for me and I am thankful for his help and support."

Germán Perez Arispuro

Matthew Ricci nominated Germán for recognition "For always showing up to the zoom lecture and answering questions with me so I'm not the only TA in there."

Cumhur Aygar

Tugay Bilgis nominated Cumhur for recognition because [Cumhur] is just very awesome and although he's a freshman, he works so hard to learn more and more, I sometimes go to him first if I have a question." 

Jacob Edwards

Tyler Windemuth nominated Jacob for recognition because "[Jacob] is Smart, a good TA. Knows what they are talking about and kind." 

Amy Paul

Maria Barrios nominated Amy for recognition because "[Amy] helps me understand concepts that otherwise I would be lost in. She takes the time and explains in detail what I'm doing wrong and how to better approach the problem." 

September 2021

Elijah Acuña

Davlat Uralov nominated Elijah for recognition because "[Elijah] always helps with anything, very open, good person. "

Michael Arroyo

Michael was recognized by Sasha Joe. Sasha nominated Michael for recognition because "[Michael] helped me understand a variety of concepts during office hours, helped me study for an exam, and has given impactful advice on CS classes and extracurriculars. "

Nimet Beyza Bozdag

Katherine Nixon nominated Nimet for recognition because "Beyza is not only a dependable CSC 120 TA that is simultaneously friendly yet efficient in her help during office hours, but also a wonderful advocate the Google Developer Student Club. She is constantly going out of her way to encourage her peers further within the CSC major and to just generally support those that seek her help. "

Dustin Callahan (Twice!!)

Dustin was recognized twice! Clinton Kral nominated Dustin for recognition because "Dustin is one of the most hardworking people I know. He has shown a strong work ethic in not only classwork, but as a Teaching Assistant. When there are stressful times, Dustin never throws in the towel and calls it quits. He keeps moving forward through all the hardships. He's also one of the most charismatic people I've come across here in my time at UofA." Tyler Salas nominated Dustin for recognition because "Dustin is an awesome TA and always approachable even outside of the classroom. He's a hardworking student throughout all his coursework and never gives up on difficult tasks."

Brock Gordon

Brock was recognized by Teegan Toliver. Teegan nominated Brock for recognition because "Brock has been working really hard in all of his classes even though he doesn't always get the results he wants. He doesn't let anything get him down though, if he doesn't do great on one project then he works even harder on the next project. This is a great example of the kids in our CS program here at University of Arizona."

Thomas Ruff

Jeff Wiederkehr nominated Thomas for recognition because "[Thomas is] super helpful as a TA and with student questions in the CS Discord. "

Davlat Uralov

Elijah Acuña nominated Davlat for recognition because "Davlat works in the Center for Digital Humanities with me and makes each day working in the lab a joy. He is also a world class leetcode programmer and earned an amazon SDE internship for next summer!"