N@TM Learning Summary

I’m currently a 9th grader taking CSSE, so I am pretty new to all of this. I had jazz band the night of the Night at the Museum CS showcase, so I only got to stop by towards the end, therefore I didn’t get to see everything as closely as I would have liked. Image 1

AI Student Insights Poll

The first project that caught my attention was an AI Student Insights Poll. It was basically a survey that asked students which AI tool, between ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or Copilot, they found most helpful for different subjects like English, Math, Science, CS, and History. In CSSE we have talked about AI tools and how they can help with coding, so this project felt relevant to me. What I thought was cool is that these students weren’t just using AI, but instead they were actually studying it and comparing the tools. It made me think more carefully about which AI I use and why, instead of just defaulting to ChatGPT. Image 1

Hunger Heroes

Hunger Heroes is a full web app that connects food donors with shelters and food banks in San Diego, being an actual app that could help real people in the real world. It had two separate user flows, one for donors and one for receivers, and the whole thing looked polished, like something a person would actually use. Right now in CSSE I’m still learning the basics of how web pages even work, so seeing a project at this level was kind of a wake-up call for what’s possible. It made me realize that the stuff I’m learning now is actually the foundation for building something like this. Image 1

What I Took Away From All of This

Looking through these projects, I learned a lot. The biggest thing is that the gap between where I am now in CSSE and where these upperclassmen are isn’t magic, but instead it’s just time and practice. Every one of these projects was built using skills that started from the same basics I’m learning right now. I also learned that the best CS projects aren’t just technically impressive, but instead they solve real problems, they’re fun to use, and they show that the person who built them actually cared about it.