TA Spotlight: Kimberly Sirichoke

Kimberly Sirichoke is a TA for CS 6475: Computational Photography. Keep reading to learn more about Kimberly!

What is your academic and/or professional background? If you're currently working, what do you do?

I received my undergraduate degree from University of Florida, where I majored in Computer Science and minored in Mathematics. Afterwards, I received my master’s degree in Computer Science from Georgia Tech, with a specialization in Computing Systems. Currently, I am a Senior Full Stack Developer at FedEx, and I am also the Head TA/IA for CS 6475: Computational Photography.

Why do you TA for OMSCS?

I started as a TA for CS 6475: Computational Photography in Summer 2015 after I completed the first offering of the course that spring semester. I decided to become a TA because I wanted to learn more about Computational Photography and help contribute to the growth of the course as well. A lot of work gets put into TA-ing a course, so it's encouraging when we hear positive feedback from students. We've had students reach out over the years to let us know that they've had opportunities to apply Computational Photography concepts at their jobs, or that taking our course inspired a career change. Hearing stories like these encourages me to continue as a TA for OMSCS because I want to help make the OMSCS experience a positive one for our students.

What inspired you to enroll in OMSCS?

I started OMSCS in January 2014 as part of the first cohort, so I’ve been a part of this program literally from Day 1. I knew that I wanted to get my master’s degree in Computer Science, and what better place to do that than Georgia Tech? When I saw that GT was starting an online master’s program in Computer Science, I figured I would give it a shot and apply. I knew this was something brand new, not just for me, but for GT as well, so I just went in with an open mind. When I started the program, there were only a few hundred of us and a handful of courses to choose from, so seeing how much OMSCS has grown over the last ten years has been absolutely amazing! Overall, my OMSCS experience was amazing and I have my family to thank for all of their support.

What do you love most about working with computers?

I love that there is always something new to learn every day when working with computers, and that the work you do in the computer science field can make a difference. Being a developer, I’m usually working on a computer for the majority of my day, but it doesn’t get boring! I usually find myself working on projects that allow me to learn new things and it’s a good feeling when I see my work being used out in the real world to help others.

What is your favorite way to relax after a long day of debugging?

Watching my favorite sports team (Go Heat!), finding a new TV show to watch, or even grading reports (some TAs will think I’m crazy for saying this). Our class covers topics like pyramid blending, panoramas, HDR, and object removal, so it’s interesting to see the results our students come up with!