WHERE DID YOU GROW UP? WHAT WAS YOUR ACADEMIC PATH? I was born in India, but I pretty much grew up in Fremont, California, which is a brisk Bart ride away from Berkeley. I went to a really competitive public high school (Mission San Jose High, you may have heard of it. I think it sends the most students to Cal from a single school). So yeah, I had my fair share of exposure to a competitive academic atmosphere before getting here, but Berkeley has definitely been a huge step up in terms of the challenge. HOW MUCH PROGRAMMING HAVE YOU DONE? WHAT LANGUAGES? I took CS10 in the fall of 2010 (also the first time it was offered), and that was my first time programming! To be fair, I've been a computer junkie my whole life, and I did a small amount of web design in high school. And actually back in my elementary school days, I programmed a turtle to move across the computer screen in a language called Logo. My first year at Berkeley, I picked up Scratch, BYOB, and Scheme. This past summer I learned Perl during an internship, and I am now learning Java, thanks to CS61B. WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES? Let's see...I love basketball, both playing and watching. I also like long runs. I enjoy watching movies, including Hollywood and Bollywood. I also like making short videos once in a while. I love messing around with and exploring technology, and I am huge junkie for Apple devices. I also like to read, but a lot of what I read happens to be short form content on the web (I have 40-50+ blogs on my Google Reader)...Yet, my iPad hasn't quite yet replaced my occasional desire for a nice paper book. WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR TALENTS AND SKILLS? I have a fair amount of skills revolving around technology: graphic design, video editing, fixing computers, and general computery stuff. I've also been shooting and editing video for almost 6 years. Some of the softer skills I like to think I have: empathizing with others, turning complexity into simplicity, coming up with cool ideas, and working with kids. HAVE YOU EVER DONE ANYTHING REMARKABLE? The accomplishment I am most proud of is the school-wide television station that I co-founded during my senior year of high school. When I started the station with my good friend Jerry, it was basically a team of videographers, anchors, and journalists, going to every school event and filming each of them, and then creating a 12 minute show to be shown in every classroom at my school. The best part: in the 2 years since I graduated, the TV station has gone on to become a full-fledged on-campus organization, rivaling the school newspaper, and is complete with a 15-person manager team running the show. There's a lot of satisfaction to be gained from being able to look at something alive and making impact, and saying, "Hey, I started that!" WHAT COMMITMENTS WILL BE CONSUMING YOUR CYCLES THIS TERM? Looks like this is shaping up to be a pretty busy semester. Aside from a few pretty heavy courses, including CS61B and EE20, I'm also taking UCBugg, where will I learn how to animate a short film. I'm also working at Rescomp this year, which is pretty awesome - I'm getting paid to fix people's computers, something I've done for free for my whole life! In addition, I'm also interning at the site http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/ - working with someone I greatly admire. Oh and I might try out for a Bollywood dance team, but we'll see where that goes. ;) And as for CS10, I am a reader and also a Co-TA, teaching a section with Samir and Max.