This concludes the first week of my IAP. I may have overcommited myself this January, but I figured that’s the least I could do in quarantine. Here’s what I do:

  1. Full-time internship with Detect (formerly Homodeus) under the 4Catalyzer startup accelerator. You can read more about their work here. I’m doing some algorithms work currently, and my supervisor lives in Europe so big timezone difference 😬.

  2. 6.s089 Introduction to Quantum Computing (MWF 3-5 PM EST): It is what it sounds like. The content is interesting but I believe the instructor could sound more enthusiastic and go more in depth on the content.

  3. 15.s50 How to win at Texas Hold’em Poker (TR 2-3:30 PM EST + 2 workshops + a poker tournament): A friend of mine, also my boss at Hack, is co-teaching the class and I actually really enjoy the psets and content! I did my first workshop this week and I learned a lot so hopefully maybe I have a backup plan in life if everything else goes bad. I’m taking this class on listener.

  4. 6.179 Introduction to C/C++ (TR 7-8 PM EST + F 7-8 PM EST recitation): This class I joined on a whim. Check out my last blog post on why I enjoy the class. The instructors are passionate, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic. Their teaching is so fluid that when one’s Zoom connection broke, the other hopped in until he was able to log onto Zoom again. I also love their notes/tips they intersperse throughout the lecture. Plus it feels like I’m learning how to code again!

  5. HackMIT: I’m in charge of Spectacle, our online judging platform, and everything is running smoothly for Blueprint 2021 so far!

  6. iMUSE: I applied, also on a whim, for this virtual public policy conference between schools in the US and China. I somehow got in even with 0 public policy experience and honestly I’m kind of scared because I don’t know what to do. I’m also insecure about my Chinese. This is taking place the last week of January so I have some time to calm my nerves.

  7. 6.s090 Deep Learning for Robotics: Technically I signed up for this class as well but may or may not get in based on limited space. Will find out this weekend!

  8. Self-teaching Missing Semester since I finish psets and work early and have a surprising amount of free time.

So my schedule is actually pretty packed but the good news is classes are chill and some things don’t take as long as they look. I’m also committed to going to Quizbowl practices throughout IAP since I wasn’t able to due to my even-more-packed fall semester.

Another reason why I’m taking all these classes is because hopefully this is the last IAP I will be stuck at home. Last IAP, I had the chance to go to Benevento, Italy and do some “research”. In fairness, I was working on the weekdays but the (unspoken) point of the externship really was to explore and travel. I got to go to Rome, Naples, Venice, Florence, Vienna, and Barcelona and see sights I’ve read about my entire life. One of my best friends, Si Young, traveled with me as well, and we had some nailbiting and memorable adventures there (perhaps in another blog post). After that run through Italy, we both swore that we would go abroad every year at MIT. Sadly, the pandemic hit, so I’m stuck in Arizona for this school year. Thus, for the next 2 IAPs, I will definitely be abroad doing GTL or another program and as a result, not having time to take IAP classes.

MIT is unique with their IAP session and the fact that many IAP classes are taught by students. A friend told me that students teach during IAP to pad their ratings in hopes of securing a good TAship later, but I realized that many of them teach because they’re passionate about the subject. Some classes like 6.179 are offered for no credit, meaning that attendees don’t get grades and also that instructors don’t get ratings. The instructors just want to teach because they love the topic. The enthusiasm is infectious and I’m pretty excited that I get to learn as much as possible in a low-stakes environment. I can attend classes and seminars and academic talks all based on my interest and not academic/peer pressure. Honestly this is the first time that’s happened to me my entire life. Academic freedom feels good. More on learning for the sake of learning in a future blog post.

On another note, I think I may have found the company I want to work for after graduation! More on why I don’t want to work for BigTech and the dilemma of selling out later.