About Me

Katie in 250 Words

2001, Disney World

In 2001, an 11-year-old Katie Kuksenok moved with her parents from Ukraine to the United States. By the time she began college in 2007, Katie had a strong interest in computer science, having taught beginning programming at a Carnegie Mellon University summer camp for high school students.

At Oberlin College, a liberal arts institution surrounded by Ohio cornfields, Katie majored in applied mathematics and computer science, exploring philosophy, politics, and studio art, which were vitally influential aspects of her education. As a student, she held multiple jobs as a programmer and grader, and was active in many student organizations and academic planning committees.

In January 2009, she began to work with Professor Jennifer Mankoff at CMU Human-Computer Interaction Institute, and has continued to be involved in several projects. This experience was formative in allowing Katie to discover Human-Computer Interaction, and prompted her to apply to graduate school to study HCI as well as Machine Learning.

In the meantime, Katie married another computer science and mathematics major from Oberlin. Her free time is mostly spent with her husband, as they share interests in arts and music. Katie particularly enjoys working with inks or acrylic paints; she also plays the guitar and sometimes sings. In addition, Katie is an insatiable reader, has recently taken an interest in beading, and intends to maintain fluency in Ukrainian and Russian.

Although she hopes that her days will acquire extra hours when she starts grad school, Katie is incredibly excited about the future.

2006, The Real Dave Matthews Band
(I'm the one with the silver guitar on the right; the band director, Mr. Matthews, is on the far left)