TACC’s 2025 Advanced Computing Student Collaborative provides an opportunity for talented students to compute on the most powerful academic supercomputer in the world and collaborate with experts at TACC.
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> SC24 ACSC Participants > SC24 ACSC Mentors
Academic Institution: Chaminade University of Honolulu
Current Major: Computer Science and Forensic Science
As an ACSC mentor, I look forward to providing the same useful guidance I received when I was a student participant. ACSC mentors helped bolster my confidence in coding, analysis, and public speaking skills. I attend Chaminade University of Honolulu where I study Computer Science and Forensic Science because. In terms of societal challenges, I deeply care about the mental health of African American, Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Alaska Native athletes. People fight hidden battles of anxiety, depression, and burnout because they encounter stereotypes and lack of culturally sensitive care without any institutional assistance.
Academic Institution: Chaminade University
Current Major: Computer Science and Data Science
As a former ACSC participant, I enjoyed connecting with others. Returning as a mentor, I can’t wait to meet new people—both mentors and participants—and challenge myself to build strong bonds with our team. Technology changes have impacted today’s youth in how they process information and express themselves. I hear their conversations and think about the technological changes that have taken place between their generation and mine. Currently, I attend Chaminade University as a double major in Computer Science and Data Science thanks to a professor who would become one of my biggest supporters. I told him, “I don’t know how to code, I’m not prepared for the math, I’m not ready.” He responded, “Don’t worry, we’ll teach you.” That moment left an impression on me.
Academic Institution / Workplace: University of Guam / Micronesian Area Geospatial Information Center (MAGIC)
Major / Work Responsibilities: M.S. Env Science / UAV (drone) research of coastal and terrestrial mapping projects; MAGIC Lab's outreach events; Data analytics & machine learning algorithms for detection of sea turtles.
As an ACSC mentor, I look forward to collaborating with peers, meeting new people, and helping participants. Growing up on Guam, I was interested in understanding, learning, and exploring the surrounding ocean environment. As the strength and frequency of typhoons and coral bleaching events occur due to climate change, Pacific Island communities (e.g., Guam, Palau, Hawai’i, etc.) will undergo significant changes. Being a native Chamorro from Guam, I want to find solutions to alleviate the impacts and prepare our communities for the future. Majoring in Environmental Science at the University of Guam allows me to study data science and how it could be applied for marine megafauna conservation (e.g., green sea turtles around Guam).
Workplace: Maxar Technologies
Work Responsibilities: Geospatial Image Technician
Having experienced ACSC as a student in 2022 and a mentor in 2024, I know the magic that happens when curious minds come together around cutting-edge computing challenges. This year, I embrace the energy of meeting a brand-new cohort of passionate students and diving into conversations about their backgrounds, interests, and aspirations. My father (rest in peace) sparked my curiosity to learn how things worked. I chose to study Computer Engineering at the University of Puerto Rico Bayamon Campus because I wanted to learn about what makes a computer work and how I can improve my own creative and critical thinking skills.
