Algorithms of Hope: One Teen’s Journey into Computer Science

At the age of 7, I stumbled upon the digital realm during a beginner coding class at my school. The journey began with a simple Scratch maze game, “programmed” out of colorful code blocks representing conditionals, variables, and statements. The objectives of the game were straightforward: guide a ball through obstacles to reach a flag. However, I saw beyond its simplicity and spent hours tinkering with different variables and components in order to optimize the game’s performance and enhance its graphics. Each block of code sparked a glimmer of potential, an untapped well of creativity waiting to be explored, reminiscent of the satisfaction and awe I felt when building LEGO creations during my earlier years. Just as each brick contributed to constructing a unique creation, each line of code contributed to shaping and refining my digital world without any boundaries.

This passion for computers permeated throughout my childhood and I found solace in the glow of computer screens while pouring my energy into countless coding projects. With each successive endeavor, I saw how creativity could be intertwined with pragmatism in order to develop meaningful technology in service of humanity: an air-quality monitoring AI, a radar system to protect planes from cyber threats, a Chrome extension to help web developers with their design process, and more.

Despite her busy schedule, my mother saved up her money to gift me a precious Macbook Air, which became the gateway for more intricate programming and development endeavors and propelled my skill set into new heights. With continued passion and persistence for years, I taught myself 18 programming languages to fluency by watching coding courses on YouTube and reading free online articles. Programming became my refuge, providing solace from the challenges I faced throughout my childhood. It offered me a realm where I could take control, develop initiatives, and transcend the limitations of my upbringing. 

When I was 4 years old, my father passed away, leaving my mother to raise my two younger brothers and me, alone. My mother faced multiple challenges navigating the world as a single mom and first-generation Japanese immigrant. Organizing parent conferences was a nightmare because she would have to spend countless hours trying to find a volunteer translator to bridge the language gap. Even simple things such as ordering food at a restaurant or coordinating birthday parties were a hassle, and I would often have to translate on behalf of my mother. She also struggled to find caretakers for her three children while she was away at work, because all the websites that included nanny listings did not have a multilingual option. 

As I matured, I became driven to find solutions not only for broader communities but also for the personal and intimate struggles I witnessed my mother endure. This led me to create Lilac when I was 16 years old, a multi-language mobile app designed to assist parents like mine with vital resources such as childcare and grants. For weeks, I dedicated myself to coding and launching the app on Apple’s App Store. After countless frustrating hours of debugging and rescripting the code base, I shared the app through word-of-mouth recommendations and emails with various communities and local organizations in Los Angeles, where it was distributed and used by hundreds of people. By the end of the first week, the app had dozens of listings from organizations offering multilingual support and outreach for grants, housing options, and childcare. Throughout this process, I learned that being perceptive of problems within a small community can fuel initiatives for broader change.

A few months after the development of Lilac, I was taking an online CPR class in order to be more prepared during emergency situations, and some of us were having a difficult time learning about compression rates and timing in an online environment. I decided to develop an Apple Watch app that utilizes haptic feedback and teaches the basics of cardiac resuscitation, and called it Pocket CPR. I submitted the app to Apple’s 2022 Swift Student Challenge, and to my astonishment, I won. The recognition garnered mainstream attention for both Lilac and Pocket CPR, even capturing the interest of Apple itself. As a result, I was invited to attend Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference, where I had the invaluable opportunity to present my app to Apple’s CEO Tim Cook, an experience I still haven’t truly processed to this day.

Aside from coding, my passions also extend to aviation, which took flight at the age of 14, when I experienced my first flight in a single-engine aircraft through the Young Eagles, a youth-based aviation program. The exhilaration of that first flight in the Cessna-172 led me to enroll in a flight school in Santa Monica in pursuit of my private pilot license. However, I was shocked when I heard that obtaining a license in California could cost up to $20,000. Knowing I could not pay that expense out of pocket, I began an exhaustive search for scholarships to fund my license. This pursuit consumed precious time that could have been better spent advancing my knowledge in ground school or accumulating flight hours. Moreover, I encountered more discouragement when I noticed the lack of diversity within the pilot community, particularly among people of color. It was very difficult to find other pilots who were either women or people of color — others I could personally relate to. Only about 15% of airline pilots are people of color and 4% of airline pilots are women. Driven to address both of these issues, I utilized my app-development skills to create Pilot Fast Track, a scholarship repository app for aspiring aviators to obtain funding to advance their aviation journeys. I embarked on my mission by sharing the app with fellow pilots at my flight school, and through their support and that of the wider aviation community, Pilot Fast Track has grown into a remarkable platform. Today, it proudly hosts hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of flight scholarships, with $30,000 specifically designated for women and people of color, all in pursuit of fostering diversity and inclusivity within the aviation industry.

Driven by my curiosity to understand more about the universe and my desire to make a bigger impact through upcoming technologies, I have my visions set to new heights to pursue the intersection of my passions for computer science and aerospace, in the dynamic field of aerospace cybersecurity. To help contribute to the growing initiative of progressing humanity toward a secure and prosperous future in space exploration, I am dedicated to developing robust programs that safeguard crucial space-based computer systems, including avionics, satellites, and spacecraft. My drive to venture into this field stems from the fundamental importance of delving into the unknown and the pursuit of scientific discovery, both of which are pivotal forces driving technological advancement and enabling us to expand our understanding of the universe through space applications.

Reflecting on my personal journey through computer science, I am filled with immeasurable gratitude for discovering a field that allowed me to pursue my passions from a young age and contribute to the betterment of the world around me. I owe a great deal of my progress and achievements to the invaluable support I was given along the way from mentors, talented peers, and my mother. Overall, computer science has taught me one invaluable lesson: You can always find ways to utilize your skill sets to leave things better off than how you first found them. Taking that first step and doing something can lead to remarkable discoveries and personal growth. By actively seeking out problems within our local communities, we uncover opportunities to make a tangible difference, no matter how small.

Cover credit: Lisa Wakiyama