Serena Simkus

Education:

Columbia University, The Fu Foundation School of
Engineering and Applied ScienceNew York, NY

BS in Computer Science, GPA: 3.92/4.00December 2015

MS in Computer Science, GPA: 3.92/4.00May 2016

Relevant Coursework:

Advanced Machine Learning, Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, Artificial Intelligence, Operating Systems, Speech recognition, Cryptography, Robotics, UI Design, Advanced Topics in Programming Languages & Compilers, Programming Languages & Translators, Introduction to Databases, Advanced Programming, Fundamentals of Computer Systems, Data Structures in Java

Relevant Experience:

Software Engineering Intern, Google: Mountain View, CAJune 2015-Aug. 2015

  • Worked on the Research i18n team on a recommendation backend for a crowdsourcing platform
  • Implemented a ControlFlow in C++ to interact with the frontend component and invoke other flows to retrieve the necessary data
  • Used control flows to efficiently handle I/O, and Protocol Buffers to store messages between services
  • Devised and implemented a heuristic to make recommendations for the user based on user history

EP Software Engineering Intern, Google: Mountain View, CAMay 2014-Aug. 2014

  • Worked in a two-person team to design and implement a multithreaded Django webserver and UI to manage testing environments
  • Built system that schedules background jobs and caches processed information
  • Server communicated with an internal API to retrieve data, display it, and allow users to perform actions against the testing environments

Private Tutor, Computer Science: New York City, NYOct. 2013-Present

  • Provided assistance for students in CS courses with homework assignments, CS concepts, or studying for exams

Computer Science Department, Teaching Assistant: New York City, NYSept. 2013-Present

  • Provided assistance in the CS Help Room, graded homework assignments and exams for E1006 (Intro to Python for Engineering)

Leadership and Volunteer Work:

Google Student Ambassador: Columbia UniversitySept. 2014-May 2015

Emerging Scholars Program: Workshop Assistant, CUJan. 2014-May 2014

Academic Tutoring: New York City, NY and Burien, WASept. 2008-Present

Application Development Initiative, MemberSpring 2013-Present

Women in Computer Science, MemberSpring 2013-Present

Society of Women Engineers, MemberFall 2012-Present

Awards & Recognition:

Term Honors Dean’s ListFall 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Fall 2014

Washington State Honors Award2012

NCWIT Aspirations in Computing Award for Washington State2012

Skills:

Programming Languages:
Proficient: Python (familiar with Django)
Prior Experience: Java, C++, C, Matlab, Octave, PHP, SQL, JavaScript