WHERE DID YOU GROW UP? WHAT WAS YOUR ACADEMIC PATH? I was born and grew up in Shanghai, the largest city in China. I came to the US when I was 17 and lived in San Francisco for a while and went to Seattle for college. I was interested in international studies and physiology in my freshman year, but soon I found about the Human Computer Interaction community at University of Washington, and fell in love with this interdisciplinary study. I ended up majoring in Human Centered Design and Engineering with a focus on HCI (Human Computer Interaction). After I graduated from UW in June, I started my Master degree in Information Management and System at Berkeley and this place really fascinates me. HOW MUCH PROGRAMMING HAVE YOU DONE? WHAT LANGUAGES? I started programming late considering many students did in their schools. I am not a typical programmer but I was exposed to many projects and course work that were programming heavy. Through my college years, I gain skills majorly in Java, Python, PHP, HTML, CSS, JavaScript (jQuery), and MySQL. WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES? I like tennis, singing, and playing the piano during my free time. I like socializing with people sharing the same interests with me. WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR TALENTS AND SKILLS? I have learned how to collaborate with co-workers in the professional world, and how to make the best design and management decisions within time and budget constraints. I have had roles as a Visual Designer, Web Developer, Technical Writer, and Program Manager in different technical projects, from which I gained strong organizing skills and the ability to work with other members on the team. Besides those, I considering singing is really my talent and I still keep the dream of being a singer of musicals. HAVE YOU EVER DONE ANYTHING REMARKABLE? Hmm...I collaborated with students in different disciplines, majorly in computer science to work on projects for developing technologies in underdeveloped countries. I had an internship with Microsoft and worked in Worldwide E-Government at Public Sector to develop BI (Business Intelligence) strategies. I was a volunteer for the Olympics Games in Beijing 2008 and was awarded Outstanding Volunteer nationally. I received Outstanding Female Award from Society of Women Engineers in my senior year in college. WHAT COMMITMENTS WILL BE CONSUMING YOUR CYCLES THIS TERM? I am teaching two sections this semester and this is my first time teaching at Berkeley, so there are many new things I need to explore and pick up quickly. Besides being a GSI, I am also a master student who has to study, do tons of readings, take exams, write essays, and work on projects. It’s a great challenge for me on time management as well as communication and leadership. I think it will be exciting and fun to teach because I really like the class subject and the faculty team of CS 10.