Diana Espindola ‘23, Head Intro Lab TA

Tell us a bit about yourself, and what you have been doing at Princeton and what you plan to do afterwards

I am a senior studying computer science that hails from Miami, FL. During my time at Princeton I have gotten involved with the Entrepreneurship Club, Whitman College Council, Scholars Institute Fellows Program, and Princeton Student Agencies. After graduation I will join Microsoft as a program manager to gain real-world experience prior to attending business school.

Why did you apply to be part of the Head Intro Lab Team?

Having worked as a 126 Lab TA, interviewer, and shadower, I wanted to increase my involvement in shaping the Intro Lab. Per the prior Head’s recommendation, I applied and have been honored to be a part of maintaining such an amazing program!

What are your takeaways from having served in 2022? What were the challenges you were proudest to overcome?

My biggest takeaways from serving in 2022 are that you have to be level-headed yet flexible at all times and Austin is the greatest Assistant Head Intro Lab TA. My greatest challenge during my first semester was finding an appropriate way to incentivize consistent attendance. I found that laying down the rules in the beginning and staffing extra TAs are the most effective ways to curb this issue. Additionally, given the varied tasks requried of the role, I truly appreciated the wisdom and support Austin provided.

Austin Li ‘23, Assistant Head Intro Lab TA

Tell us a bit about yourself, and what you have been doing at Princeton and what you plan to do afterwards

I’m a 2023 BSE COS major from Lexington, Kentucky. On campus, aside from my involvement with the Lab TA program, I’m also a part of Colonial Club and enjoy playing pickup soccer on the weekends. Right now, my plans after graduation aren’t set yet but I’m waiting to hear back from graduate school applications.

Why did you apply to be part of the Head Intro Lab Team?

I started as a 226/217 Lab TA my sophomore year and stayed in that role until the fall semester of junior year, at which point I applied for the Head Intro Lab Team. I love helping students debug their code, and the dynamic interactions each time kept the job fun for me. Having been in the lab for a while, I also wanted to explore the management aspect of it. Applying for the Head Intro Lab Team seemed like the natural step.

What are your takeaways from having served in 2022? What were the challenges you were proudest to overcome?

I think that being on the Head Intro Lab Team gave me the opportunity to see and deal with problems that I would never have thought of while I was a 226/217 Lab TA. From interviewing and hiring candidates to accomodating TAs during the semester, I enjoyed all aspects of running the lab. Probably the biggest issue in 2022 was COVID and how that would impact the lab. In particular, I’m proud of the way we handled having a hybrid lab to accomodate students and TAs, but also shifting towards the in-person experience that makes receiving/giving help feel so much better. Working with Diana was a great time and I couldn’t have asked for a better Head Intro Lab TA to work with.