Last week marked the end of an academic year unlike any other — and the culmination of all of the hard work, hopes and dreams of a graduating class unlike any other. With the resumption of in-person pomp and circumstance precluded due to ongoing pandemic-related restrictions at the University of Washington, the Allen School marked this important milestone with a virtual tribute highlighting the Class of 2021’s commitment to excellence and service — and acknowledging their perseverance in the face of multiple, significant challenges over the past year.
Professor Magdalena Balazinska, director of the Allen School, led the tribute with a video message congratulating the graduates on rising to the occasion and completing their degrees under difficult circumstances. And now that they had, she urged them to use what they have learned to make the world a better place — and continue working to make computing a more inclusive field.
“As you graduate, you have the opportunity to make an impact in a variety of ways. Take it. Be bold,” Balazinska said. “Find ways to help the community and the world around you. Work on addressing humanity’s greatest challenges. Develop technology that serves everyone, not just those who look like you or share the same background or abilities. Strive to have diverse teams where everyone feels welcome and included.
“Making the world better is not only your opportunity, but it is your responsibility,” she continued. “Because if you don’t do it, then who will?”
Balazinska’s remarks were followed by a series of congratulatory messages to the graduates from her fellow faculty members, many of whom also contributed to a Class of 2021 Kudoboard that included messages from friends, family and classmates to the newly minted graduates. The Allen School also took the opportunity to recognize members of the graduating class who had particularly distinguished themselves through their academic achievements, leadership, and service contributions with its annual student awards.
Skyler Hallinan is one of three graduates to receive the Allen School’s Outstanding Senior Award, which honors students with exceptional academic performance who exemplify leadership, good citizenship, and the pursuit of knowledge. Hallinan, who majored in computer science, applied & computational mathematical sciences, and bioengineering, was recognized for his undergraduate research in natural language processing under the guidance of Allen School professors Yejin Choi and Noah Smith, including techniques for analyzing misinformation and media bias and advancing commonsense reasoning. He also worked on the development of an orally ingestible hydrogel that would act as a substitute for a functional kidney in patients with chronic kidney disease and served as a teaching assistant (TA) in the Allen School for multiple quarters.
Joy He-Yueya and Parker Ruth each earned an Outstanding Senior Award and the Allen School’s Best Senior Thesis Award. He-Yueya, who earned her bachelor’s in computer science, worked with Allen School professor Tim Althoff in the Behavioral Data Science Group on research that led to her award-winning thesis, “Assessing the Relationship Between Routine and Schizophrenia Symptoms with Passively Sensed Measures of Behavioral Stability.” She also contributed to a project at the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems that used reinforcement learning to generate personalized curriculum for students learning to program. He-Yueya has served in multiple tutoring and peer mentoring roles — including helping other undergraduates to get their start in research.
Ruth — who previously received the Dean’s Medal for Academic Excellence from the College of Engineering — was recognized by the Allen School for his many contributions in undergraduate research as a member of the UbiComp Lab, where he advanced mobile health tools that screen for conditions such as osteoporosis and stroke; enable continuous physiological sensing; and monitor threats to public health. That work formed the basis of his award-winning senior thesis, “Design Principles for Mobile and Wearable Health Technologies,” advised by professor Shwetak Patel.
The Allen School honored two other graduating seniors — Eric Fan and Eunia Lee — with Undergraduate Service Awards. This award recognizes students who have gone above and beyond in supporting the many events and activities that contribute to a vibrant school community. Fan has helped build that sense of community both in and out of the classroom, whether in person or remote. He served as TA coordinator for the Allen School’s introductory programming series, the entré into computer science for many students in and outside of the major. He also served as an officer of the UW chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and a member-at-large of the Allen School’s Student Advisory Council. After earning his bachelor’s in computer engineering, Fan is continuing his studies in the Allen School’s combined B.S./M.S. program.
Lee, who earned her degree in computer science, has taken on multiple leadership roles in the Allen School’s K-12 and campus-level outreach, with a focus on strengthening diversity and inclusion. Her contributions have included service as a lead Ambassador to high schools and lead TA for the direct-to-major seminar that assists freshmen entering the Allen School. She also chaired the UW chapter of ACM and was instrumental in the formation of the Allen School’s Diversity & Access team.
In addition to the awards to graduating students, the Allen School also commended half a dozen students who served as TAs in the past year with its Bob Bandes Memorial Awards for Excellence in Teaching. Service Award winner Eric Fan was among the Bandes Award recipients. Students appreciated Fan, who was a TA nine times, for being approachable and open to communication, including with those who took the course asynchronously: “Eric was a TA that contributed to my learning greatly, especially in a quarter that didn’t have the best circumstances surrounding it.”
One of Fan’s fellow Bandes Award winners, Taylor Ka, served as a TA for eight quarters of one of the courses in the introductory series, Computer Programming II. A faculty member called Ka, who earned her bachelor’s in computer science on the way to enrolling in the Allen School’s combined B.S./M.S. program, “easily the best TA I have had across all courses at UW” and highlighted her knowledge, kindness, and approachability. A student recommended another award recipient, Andrew Wei, for his generosity and patience, and recalled how Wei would stay up late multiple nights per week to work with students who were struggling with assignments. Wei, who graduated from the B.S./M.S. program, assisted with no fewer than eight courses over 12 quarters.
The Allen School bestowed Bandes Award Honorable Mentions on three TAs: undergraduate Kyrie Dowling, and Ph.D. students Liang He and Edward Misback. Dowling, who has assisted with Systems Programming and The Hardware/Software Interface, stood out for her high energy, skillful explanation of concepts, and the fact that “it is very evident she cares about the learning of all of her students.” Meanwhile, He was recognized for his “positivity and creative encouragement” in supporting students in studio-oriented courses that typically feature physically-oriented lectures and coursework in the remote learning environment — including soldering, preparing and packaging more than 50 kits for delivery to students wherever they happened to be. Last but not least, Misback was recognized for guiding students through the “numerous technical pitfalls” of networking and web serving while encouraging them to discover solutions for themselves. As one faculty nominator suggested, “He will make an excellent teacher if he chooses that path.”
This year’s Bandes Award honorees were selected from among 185 TAs nominated by faculty and students. A total of 670 students served as TAs during the academic year, assisting faculty and their fellow students to make the most of remote learning. Thanks in part to their efforts, an estimated 635 Allen School students earned their degrees in 2020-2021.
As she commended the graduates for achieving their educational goals, Balazinska noted this was not the end of their journey, but rather the beginning.
“Whatever your next steps are, an Allen School degree opens so many opportunities for you. I encourage you to be courageous. Continue to reach for the stars,” said Balazinska. “Go out and make your mark on the world. Every single one of you has what it takes to do great things.”
Congratulations to all of our graduates! We look forward to seeing what you do next — and to welcoming you back as alumni!
Editor’s note: Although the Allen School will award an estimated 635 degrees for the 2020-2021 academic year, only those students who opted into having their information displayed publicly are included in the online tribute.