Staff
Instructors
Deeksha Kumar (she/her)
Hi, I’m Deeksha!! I took CS10 my very first semester of college without any coding experience and this past spring I just graduated from Berkeley with my degree in computer science! I’m originally from a small town in Iowa so I’ve really enjoyed exploring SF and the Bay Area over the last 4 years. In my free time I enjoy dancing, rewatching Friends for the 10th time, listening to music (especially Taylor Swift!), and trying out new food places around Berkeley. Teaching is a huge passion of mine which is why I’ve loved being a part of CS10 course staff the past few years and am really looking forward to instructing this summer. CS at Berkeley can often be a really intimidating experience but I really hope that we can help it feel more approachable and welcoming. I’m so excited to meet you all this summer and help you have an amazing experience in this course!
Madeleine LaBute (she/they)
Hi! I’m Maddie. I just graduated with my degree in Computer Science here at Cal. I took CS10 my freshman year and fell even deeper in love with CS. I’m a Bay Area native and come home (an hour from Berkeley) frequently to hang out with family. When I’m not coding, you can find me thrifting, learning C++ for my new job, forcing my boyfriend who has perfect pitch to transcribe that one melody from that one song, or attempting to playing Switch with my 10 year old sister. I’m so pumped to be instructing this Summer and am looking forward to getting to know you all!
Head Teaching Assistant
Vedansh Malhotra
Hey there! :) I’m a rising junior studying CS, CogSci, and Data Sci., and this is my second time teaching CS-10. As someone who started out with little programming experience, I believe that CS at Berkeley can be a challenging, yet immensely rewarding experience. My primary goal this semester is to help students discover and come to appreciate the remarkable beauty of problem solving- for which, Computer Science is an indispensable tool!
Teaching Assistants
Imen Guechtouli
Hellooooo everyone!! I’m Imen, and I’m officially going to be starting my second year at Cal this Fall as an EECS major after having taken some time off. I took CS 10 in Fall 2020 and knew the moment the course was over that I wanted to come back, and now I’m a Head Discussion TA for this summer! I’ve always enjoyed the growth that comes from me teaching my friends, and I’m looking forward to becoming a better instructor and giving back to the course community that made me feel confident in becoming a programmer! Things I love doing in my spare time are playing volleyball, hiking, exploring and analyzing fashion trends and design practices, binge watching SNL compilations, and reading/watching romance novels and films. I have a lot of laughter (I find a lot of things funny) and curiosity in my system, so philosophical chats and random jokes are always going to pop up. I’m stoked to have you all get to know me a little more this summer and the rest of the course staff. We’re going to have such a blast! (‘:
Silas Gifford (he/they)
Hi! My name is Silas Gifford. I’m a 5th Year MIDS (Master of Information and Data Science) student. I completed my undergraduate honors thesis on counting seals from space using deep learning. I’m originally from Southern California and my favorite museum there is the Norton Simon. I have a cat, Cloe, who loves to hunt bugs and nap in the sun. I look forward to meeting everyone and having good discussions in class and during OH.
Readers
Eric Min Young Park
Hiiii! I’m Eric and I’m a rising sophomore in undeclared engineering intending EECS with possibly a minor in ethnic studies. I took CS10 my first semester at Cal and have been an AI in my second! And now, I’m very excited to be a reader this summer! Aside from CS, I enjoy reading, writing stories, finding new music, walking, and playing games. Hope you guys have a great time this summer
Sarah Taylor (she/her)
Hello everyone! My name is Sarah, and I am a rising third year double majoring in Cognitive Science and Data Science. I took the CS10 in my first semester and since then have helped with running labs and discussion sections and am excited to finally be on course staff as a reader and AI Head! Outside my studies, I enjoy listening to music, exploring campus at night, and getting involved on campus.