Alp Yakici

Computer Science and Data Science; Hanszen College

Rice CS Club
2 min readNov 8, 2021

Bio:

Alp is a senior from Hanszen studying computer science and data science, originally from Turkey. After graduation, he is planning on joining Luay Nakhleh’s Bioinformatics Group as a fifth-year MS student.

L’s Taken

“Thank you for taking the time to apply, but…”

  • 2S
  • iHeartMedia
  • Stripe
  • Every FAANG company at some point
  • CS Club Freshmen Representative
  • 17 out of 20 universities I applied to for undergrad
  • Hanszen Academic Fellow for CS
  • Hanszen Merch Committee
  • Hanszen O-Week Advisor in my freshmen year
  • +100 companies…

Regrets I have

  • Not applying to internships/opportunities in my freshmen year.

Embarrassing moments

  • That one time grading a COMP 182 midterm and engaging in a heated debate with Luay trying to prove that the problem was wrong. I was the wrong one after all :,(
  • Falling at the intersection by Hanszen/Kraft/Baker Institute when I was first learning how to ride a penny board.
  • There are probably a ton more that I cannot recall…

Things I swore I’d finish but never did

  • My math minor? They didn’t offer the classes I wanted to take, and the ones that were offered were not it :(

Everyday L’s

  • Attempting to wake up at 8 AM to have a productive day, and instead waking up at 11:30 AM & finally leaving bed in the afternoon.
  • Drinking coffee after 8 PM (stopped after Sophomore year though).

On the Bright Side

Memories made when I wasn’t studying/working

  • SNC every Sunday in freshmen and sophomore year with two of my closest friends that I met on the first day of COMP 140.
  • Going to House of Pies with that same group of friends.

Favorite Rice traditions

  • O-Week
  • Beer Bike (& Beer Bike Week)

Things I’ve learned that will still matter in 10 years

  • Asymptotic complexity analysis, probably.
  • Time & project management.

Things I’m proud of that aren’t on my resume

  • Advising for O-Week and seeing my new students take on initiatives and becoming successful.
  • The projects I completed in Hackathons.
  • Being Hanszen’s webmaster.
  • That one time when an underclassmen came and told me that they wanted to follow my footsteps (only the good parts though).

Things I’ve done that have pushed me out of my comfort zone

  • Studying in the U.S.
  • Joining CS Club
  • Applying for Grad Schools
  • Leading CS Club
  • Living OC

Leaps of faith

  • Applying for the fifth-year master’s with thesis program in my Junior spring. It’s definitely nerve-racking.

Things I’m looking forward to

  • Finishing my bachelor’s degree and then my masters.
  • Concert I’m attending the day after my graduation.
  • Life after school, one day.

Life events that made me stronger

  • Pandemic

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