Inspirit AI Reviews: Hear from Inspirit AI Alums Now at Top US Universities
Inspirit AI Scholars alums share their perspectives on their experience in the program. As alums of the program, these students discuss their AI learning journeys — providing valuable insight into how the AI Scholars program has impacted their college and career paths thus far.
Harvard Admissions Officer Shares How to Showcase an Inspirit AI Project in College Applications
In this interactive webinar, Justin Neiman, a former Harvard admissions officer and academic dean at Stanford, will discuss why independent research is so valuable in college admissions and help you translate your Inspirit AI experiences into compelling college applications.
Justin Neiman is a college admissions strategist and the founder of Selective Admissions, an education advising firm dedicated to helping students navigate the competitive landscape of college admissions. As a former Admissions Officer at Harvard University and Assistant Dean at Stanford University, Justin provides a unique perspective on how students can stand out in the college application process. He holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College and an M.A. from Stanford University.
Clarice Wang, Now at University of Pennsylvania
Clarice Wang is currently an undergraduate student at University of Pennsylvania studying Computer Science. Before getting admitted to University of Pennsylvania, Clarice was a student in the Inspirit AI Scholars program in Summer 2020.
“The AI Scholars program positively influenced my college preparation and academic journey. As my first summer program in AI, it offered me invaluable project experience, enriching my understanding of AI and ML. This experience not only enhanced my college applications but also sparked a deeper curiosity in these fields. Following this, I ascended to a fellowship role, allowing me to share my insights with my school community through presentations at programming and AI clubs. This opportunity further honed my leadership skills and solidified my passion for AI, shaping my academic path significantly.”
“The AI Scholars program positively influenced my college preparation and academic journey. As my first summer program in AI, it offered me invaluable project experience, enriching my understanding of AI and ML. This experience not only enhanced my college applications but also sparked a deeper curiosity in these fields. Following this, I ascended to a fellowship role, allowing me to share my insights with my school community through presentations at programming and AI clubs. This opportunity further honed my leadership skills and solidified my passion for AI, shaping my academic path significantly.”
Read more about Clarice’s review of the Inspirit AI program here.
Anish Sasanur, Now at UC Berkeley
“The AI Scholars Program gave me a great introduction to Machine Learning and AI that I don’t think I would have been able to learn on my own! The concepts were introduced in an easy to understand way that also got me inspired to learn more about the field on my own. The project that we all worked on together was a fun and interactive experience that let me get hands on experience with Computer Vision technology.”
Sofia Cornu, Now at University of Cambridge
Sofia Cornu is currently an undergraduate student at University of Cambridge studying Computer Science. Before getting admitted to University of Cambridge, Sofia was a student in the Inspirit AI Scholars program in Summer 2021.
“The AI scholars program provided a great introduction to machine learning and worked very well as a springboard to then continue doing research and learning about the field. Having touched base with some machine learning concepts meant I was able to carry out more personal projects with an ML component which I could then talk about in college personal statements and interviews.”
“Having completed the AI Scholars project has helped my career journey as carrying out the melanoma detection project made me realise how much more I enjoy working on a software application if it is designed with a social purpose/ to help people. This has shaped the sorts of projects I have chosen to work on within my studies, as well as the internship positions I have applied for, as I will actively seek out projects which are designed to help people in some way.”
Read more about Sofia’s review of the Inspirit AI program here.
Eva Georgaklis, Now at Columbia University
“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 headstart 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.”
Read more about Eva’s review of the Inspirit AI program here.
Cole Nesselson, Now at Brown University
Cole Nesselson is currently an undergraduate student at Brown University studying Chemical Biology and Environmental Studies. Before getting admitted to Brown University, Cole was a student in the Inspirit AI Scholars program in Spring 2021.
“Through demonstrating how useful programming and AI are in understanding large biological datasets, the Inspirit AI program made me eager to pursue programming in college to support my interest in biology.”
“The AI Scholars project I did informed my interest in analyzing genomic data during my fungal genomic research last summer. [As a student at Brown,] I have taken a course called Phage Hunters which dealt with isolating a bacteriophage, which is a virus that infects bacteria, sequencing its genome, and then analyzing its genes (similar to the Inspirit AI project I worked on). I worked on fungal genomics research for designing more sustainable biofuels.”
Read more about Cole’s review of the Inspirit AI program here.
Andy Qiao, Now at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
“The AI Scholars program provided me with hands-on experience and practical skills in the field of CS, which was valuable in preparing me for college coursework and research. The program also helped open doors to various opportunities, including other programs and research positions.”
Read more about Andy’s review of the Inspirit AI program here.
Eric Noriega, Now at MIT
Eric Noriega is currently an undergraduate student at MIT studying Artificial Intelligence and Business Analytics. Before getting admitted to MIT, Eric was a student in the Inspirit AI Scholars program in Winter 2021.
“Inspirit AI has made for interesting conversation during internship interviews. The experience is pertinent to the positions I have applied for.” Since completing the Inspirit AI program, Eric has had 2 research internships as a data science intern at Nasdaq and a software engineering intern at Capital One.
“I mentioned Inspirit AI in my college essays, which really tailored my application to the fields I was interested in… Your essays are the ‘pages’ in your ‘book’ - what do you want colleges to know about you? Your ‘book’ should tell them who you are, who you want to become, and how that college will help you get there.”
Read more about Eric’s review of the Inspirit AI program here.
Amita Satish, Now at University of Texas at Austin
Amita Satish is currently an undergraduate student at University of Texas at Austin studying Electrical and Computer Engineering & Economics. Before getting admitted to UT Austin, Amita was a student in the Inspirit AI Scholars program in Summer 2021.
“The AI Scholars program introduced the world of AI to me, which I found different from the data structures and algorithms classes I had been exposed to. After participating in this program, and going through interviews, I got an offer at Citibank to be an AI/ML Engineer. This probably really helped me to get into college and also find research positions once I was in college. Inspirit sparked my interest in AI which I have been continuing to explore.”
“The AI Scholars project really helped me concretize concepts we learned such as linear or logistic regression, which I had initially learned as a more theoretical concept. Like I mentioned before, this experience helped me land an offer at Citibank after my senior year of high school under the AI/ML division. In general, Inspirit was one of the biggest drivers of me choosing technology and engineering. The following summer (Summer 2023), I was offered an internship at Tesla as a Manufacturing Controls Automation Dev Engineer. In that role, I got to make applications and analyze data, and I was able to apply a lot fo what I learned at Inpsirit. Primarily, I would say the approach that we were taught to tackle projects we face was a huge takeaway, because I was able to use it in many different contexts.”
Read more about Amita’s review of the Inspirit AI 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.
