When I joined the team as a teaching assistant for Intro to Data + AI, the first thing that stood out to me was something I did not expect: this was never really about students completing projects for a grade.

From day one, the team’s entire orientation was about helping students build something meaningful, something they will add to their personal portfolio, point to in an interview, and say, “I built that. I solved a real problem with it.”

What struck me most was the transformation. On the first day of class, many students walked in confused about why they needed these skills: why a business major or liberal arts student needed to understand data APIs, AI tools, or workflow automation. But by the end of the semester, those same students were the ones pitching real solutions to real companies, structuring their team contributions like workplace professionals, and walking into interviews with a concrete story to tell.