Inspirit AI Scholars Program Review 2024
Eva Georgaklis is currently an undergraduate student at Columbia University studying Computer Science and Applied Math. Before getting admitted to Columbia University, Eva was a student in the Inspirit AI Scholars program. She participated in the program in Summer 2021, and in this interview, she shares a review of her experience in the program, answering the question: Is Inspirit AI worth it?
Eva Georgaklis’ Inspirit AI Alum Profile
How did the AI Scholars program impact your preparation for college and your academic journey?
“The AI Scholars Program was so beneficial when adapting to college. Not only did I feel more prepared for my CS courses, but I felt more comfortable learning new languages and working on hands-on projects. After AI Scholars, I found myself more willing to take initiative in group coding projects and more curious about the tech industry.”
What project did you work on in the AI Scholars program?
AI + Pneumonia Detection
In this project, students create a computer vision system to help diagnose pneumonia from chest X-rays. Students review neural networks and create convolutional neural networks in Keras to process medical images. Then students improve their models using transfer learning: adapting from expert models. Students also evaluate your model on field data, and learn to create artificial data using image transformations so that their model performs well on real-life data. Students may even deploy their model to an app!
Which colleges/universities did you apply to, and which did you get accepted to?
Eva applied to highly selected colleges, including Columbia University, where she now currently attends. Take a look at her college admissions journey below.
In what ways did you feature your Inspirit AI experience on your college applications?
Many students will choose to showcase their AI project-building experience on their college application in a variety of ways. From including Inspirit AI on the activities section to writing an essay about their project, many students will highlight the work they completed as part of the AI Scholars program to help bolster their application. Eva chose to showcase Inspirit AI on her application in the activities section, where she mentioned participating in the program, as well as her essays, where she wrote about her Inspirit AI project-building experience.
How has your AI Scholars project affected your career journey?
A student’s learning journey doesn’t end with AI Scholars—the Inspirit AI program can be a launching point for many students’ college and career journeys exploring computer science and artificial intelligence. For Eva, her project helped inspire an interest in computer science.
“My AI Scholars program equipped me well to start my career journey in tech. I had zero experience coming into the program, and I left the program with python experience, a new project on my resume, and more confidence to take on coding challenges and immerse myself in more computer science opportunities. It really gave me a head start when applying to internships and college because it showed schools I was curious to code outside of school and worked on a real, hands-on project. It also taught me more about the process of a large engineering project and the emphasis on collaboration and trial and error.”
What has your college and career journey been like since you completed the AI Scholars program?
“I completed the Inspirit AI Program going into my senior year of High School. I was then accepted into Columbia Engineering that fall. The following summer, I was a Computer Science Summer Institute Scholar at Google. My freshman year at Columbia, my relevant coursework was Java, Data Structures in Java, Multivariable Calculus, and Linear Algebra. I also began interning at a Startup downtown called Light RFP. The following summer, I was a Software Engineer Intern at the National Museum of Mathematics. Then, in my Sophomore year at Columbia, my relevant coursework has been Advanced Programming in C, Python, and Probability and Stats for Engineers. This coming summer, I will be a Technology Consulting Intern at PwC.”
What advice do you have for high school students applying to their dream colleges?
“My biggest piece of advice is to gain experience in what you are truly interested in. Don't feel like you have to be perfectly well rounded, but rather show that you have passions and interests that you work towards and can make an impact with. Join clubs, extracurriculars, and give back to your communities through involving yourself in activities you are passionate about. Go above in beyond in seeking opportunities for growth and learning, because in the end, that is what makes you stand out to colleges - it is showing them that you take full advantage of opportunities around you and you will do the same at their school.”
For Eva, the Inspirit AI program was more than worth it, from showcasing AI Scholars on her college application to applying her learnings from the Inspirit AI course to her work as a college student. If you liked this Inspirit AI review, we encourage you to apply to the live online program here.
About Inspirit AI
AI Scholars Live Online is a 10 session (25-hour) program that exposes high school students to fundamental AI concepts and guides them to build a socially impactful project. Taught by our team of graduate students from Stanford, MIT, and more, students receive a personalized learning experience in small groups with a student-teacher ratio of 5:1.
