Mira Thope

I’m a rising junior at Carnegie Mellon University, majoring in Information Systems with a concentration in UX Design. At CMU, I’m actively involved in the Women in IS program, where I mentor a first-year IS student, and I also serve as a peer tutor for several Computer Science and Information Systems courses. In high school, I was heavily involved in the Computer Science Honor Society and Peer Mentoring Program.

Outside of my experience at Fairfax Collegiate, I’ve worked as a peer tutor at Carnegie Mellon University’s Student Academic Success Center. In this role, I provide one-on-one tutoring in courses such as Principles of Computing, Reasoning with Data, Fundamentals of Programming & Computer Science, and Database Design & Development. I help students understand course content, develop effective study strategies, and build confidence in their academic skills.

Additionally, in high school, I participated in a Peer Mentoring Program, where I supported freshmen as they transitioned into high school life. This included offering academic guidance and helping them get involved in extracurricular activities.

I started working at Fairfax Collegiate last summer, teaching sessions I-IV (6/17/2024 - 8/9/2024). I taught Minecraft and Python 5-6, Java Programming 7-9, Intro to Computer Science 9-12, Intro to Python 9-12, and Python Programming 7-9.

This summer, I will be teaching computer science courses in Python and Java and math classes. I took Java classes all through high-school, covering AP Computer Science Principles, AP Computer Science A, Advanced Computer Science, and Computer Systems. I also took a Geospatial Analysis course in high school where I became familiar with GIS software such as ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Online. At CMU, I have taken Fundamentals of Programming & Computer Science which cover Python fundamentals, algorithms and object oriented programming in Python. In this course, I designed and built a game that simulated the role of a barista in a coffee shop utilizing Python, graphics, animations, and PIL. I also took Principles of Imperative Computation, which covered data structures and algorithms in a C-like language.

Teaching and working with young students has always been a role I’ve been involved with and naturally gravitated towards. Helping others solve problems and get over obstacles fills me with satisfaction and allows me to positively impact the lives of young students. Along with being able to witness students grow academically, working with students allows me to build meaningful relationships.

Outside of work, I love to dance. Growing up, I studied an Indian classical dance called Kathak for 10 years, and here at CMU, I am a member of the competitive Bhangra dance team where I'll be serving as captain for the upcoming school year. I also love to work out, bake, and whet my caffeine addiction by exploring coffee shops around town!