Steven Van Hulle

Where do you attend school and what activities are you involved in?

I'm studying AI at Purdue and possibly double majoring in CS. I'm the PR director of my hall club, which organizes events (donut day, succulent plant pot painting, etc.), so I manage the hall club's social media presence.

What subjects have you taught with Fairfax Collegiate in the past?

I started working with Fairfax Collegiate in 2022 as a Lead TA, so the subjects varied. I was an Instructor in 2023, teaching robotics and 3D printing classes. During November and December 2023, I worked as a tutor for FC's Virginia Tutoring.

What sort of experience have you had in the subject you’ll be teaching this summer?

I participated in FIRST Lego League, where I learned EV3 robotics. During junior year of high school, I took a robotics and electronics class where I designed and built a robot from VEX parts and other parts I designed and 3D printed or laser cut. I used Arduino to control the robot.

The programming languages I know are Python, Java, and C++. My two most impressive projects are visualizing using a search algorithm (called A*) to find the shortest railroad route between two points in the United States, and using a machine learning model that locates and identifies chess boards and chess pieces to determine the chess position from a photo.

What excites you about teaching and working with students?

For robotics, there are many different activities that can be used to teach the same concept, and I enjoy modifying the activities or creating new ones to fit the class and make it as enjoyable as possible. It's very satisfying to see students really enjoy what I have planned out. Second, Fairfax Collegiate played a significant role in what I'm studying now, since it got me interested in subjects I enjoy when I took classes here. Now that I'm teaching here, I'd like to "give back" by getting new students interested in what I'm teaching.

Outside of work, what are some hobbies you enjoy?

I'm on the Purdue Crew team, and we have practice 6 days a week. During my free time, I like to crochet, read books, and listen to boring government proceedings (specifically white house press briefings).