Students
Jennifer Alexandra Thompson
Years active: Fall 2022 - current
Alexandra is a fourth-year PhD student at Virginia Tech, advised by Dr. Sara Hooshangi. Her research focuses on broadening participation in computing education, with specific regard to how socioeconomic status impacts a student’s enrollment, performance, retention, and self-efficacy in computing. She is also interested in exploring intersectional disparity gaps in computing education.
Projects:
Socioeconomic Disparity Factors in Computer Science Education
Links:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jenalexthompson
Website: people.cs.vt.edu/alexthompson06
Nawar Wali
Years active: Fall 2022 - current
Nawar is a fourth-year PhD student at Virginia Tech, advised by Dr. Sara Hooshangi. Her research focuses on understanding the experiences of transfer students in computer science (CS), identifying how institutions can better support them, and uncovering concerning patterns and emerging themes to better conceptualize this student population.
Projects:
Transfer Student Success in Computer Science
Links:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/nawar-wali-811031180
Website: https://nwalivt.github.io/
Mitch Gerhardt
Years active: Fall 2025 - current
Mitch is a first-year PhD student at Virginia Tech, advised by Dr. Sara Hooshangi.
Links:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mitchell-gerhardt
Website: mitchg10.github.io
Amanda Ross
Assistant Professor in Computer Science at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Years active: Fall 2021 - Summer 2025
Amanda completed her PhD in Summer 2025, co-advised by Dr. Sara Hooshangi and Dr. Andrew Katz.
Links:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/amanda-ross99
Mounika Abbineni
Current Position
Years active: Fall 2023 - Spring 2025
Mounika completed her Masters of Science in Spring 2025, advised by Dr. Sara Hooshangi.
Thesis: Mixed Methods Study of How Computer Science Students Make Elective Course Choices
Links:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mounika-abbineni
Tyler Buxton
Full Stack Developer II at FedEx
Years active: Fall 2023 - Spring 2025
Tyler completed his Masters of Science in Spring 2025, advised by Dr. Sara Hooshangi.
Thesis: Gitit: An Interactive Online Platform for Teaching Command Line Based Skills Through Visualizations.
Links:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tyler-buxton-30420b220
Website: tylerbuxton.com
Gaurav Shah
Analyst at Deloitte Consulting
Years active: Fall 2023 - Spring 2025
Gaurav completed his Masters of Science in Spring 2025, co-advised by Dr. Sara Hooshangi. His research focused on applying machine learning techniques for causal inference.
Thesis: Evaluating the Effects of Financial Deregulation on Bank Risk using Double Machine Learning
Links:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/gaurav-shah-a0b784207
Khushi Parajuli
Risk Rotation Senior at Freddie Mac
Years active: Fall 2021 - Winter 2023
Khushi completed her Masters of Science in Winter 2023, advised by Dr. Sara Hooshangi.
Links:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/khushi-parajuli
Ryan Buxton
Senior Associate Software Engineer at Capital One
Years active: Fall 2021 - Winter 2023
Ryan completed his Masters of Science in Winter 2023, advised by Dr. Sara Hooshangi.
Thesis: Teaching Command Line and Git Skills Using Exercises with Interactive Visualizations
Links:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rbux