As an undergraduate teaching assistant for the ICS Summer Academy, I mentored over 60 students in an intensive introductory software engineering program. Many students entered the program with limited prior experience, which required me to focus on building strong conceptual foundations. I supported instruction in object oriented design, UML modeling, system architecture, and agile development practices, helping students connect abstract concepts to concrete implementation decisions.
I led breakout sessions where students presented code and design artifacts and received real time feedback. During these sessions, I focused on improving class structure, abstraction boundaries, and overall system organization. Providing immediate feedback helped students understand how design choices impact maintainability and scalability, and it strengthened my own ability to reason about software at multiple levels of abstraction.
This role emphasized the importance of communication and adaptability in technical teaching. Explaining design principles to diverse learners required me to adjust explanations, draw diagrams, and reason through examples collaboratively. The experience reinforced my interest in software engineering education and deepened my understanding of how structured guidance and iterative feedback support the development of strong engineering habits.