About Me
Hi! My name is Veronica, and I am a second-year computer science major at the University of Florida with plans to pursue a career in machine learning engineering. I love singing, composing music, calligraphy, coming up with ideas for programming projects, and traveling. You’ll find me happiest walking along a beach or a quaint park with family and friends—bonus points if my dog is there, too.
UF in Singapore
MY STUDY ABROAD & INTERN JOURNEY
My journey in Singapore has vastly expanded my worldview and taught me the value of cultural harmony. I’ve witnessed how a blend of Southeast Asian cultures brings the city to life. Each Hawker stall is evenly split between foods of different origins, each “Singlish” word is derived from a different language, and dozens of temples, mosques, and churches can be found across the city. I’ve also noticed how hardworking and family-oriented the people of Singapore are. They respect their elders, adhere strongly to rules in the workplace, and prioritize relationships with their mothers, fathers, and siblings. Singapore has a vibrant culture that will guarantee a broadened perspective.
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The challenges I faced during this internship largely had to do with cultural differences and miscommunication stemming from the international nature of the work environment. I felt that the directions my supervisor gave me were often indirect and a bit difficult to understand. Since Singapore has a high-context culture, directions are typically more like suggestions—more gentle and conflict-reducing than directions given in cultures of low context. After my first time presenting, my supervisor gave me some instructions on how to improve my slides, but they seemed more like a collection of ideas that could be either implemented or left out. I adopted some of Mr. Wen's ideas but neglected to include a few others, assuming they were general suggestions. After my second presentation, Mr. Wen seemed confused as to why I did not follow all of his instructions thoroughly. That encounter taught me the importance of recognizing cultural differences and researching the distinction between high and low-context cultures. Had I known Singaporeans’ tendency to be more gentle in their directions, I would not have perceived them as suggestions. From that point on, I prioritized following all of Mr. Wen's instructions exactly.
I will use this intercultural experience in my future profession as a machine learning engineer to become a more knowledgeable, considerate member of the workplace. By showing respect for different cultures, I will dilligently complete tasks and cooperate smoothly with coworkers, forming stronger connections with colleagues.
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My Internship
THREE NORTH STARS PTE. LTD.
Working at Three North Stars Pte. Ltd. has offered me the incredible opportunity to learn multiple computer science topics. When I first arrived in Singapore, my goal was to learn more about AI models and computer vision techniques, since I am interested in machine learning as a potential career. In the month between the spring semester and summer term, I read three textbooks: one about the history of artificial intelligence, another about large language models, and another about the creation of semantic search engines, fine-tuning, and prompt engineering. These readings, recommended to me by my supervisor before the internship, prefaced the AI work that I would complete during the two-month term. I read these books thoroughly and began coding my own semantic search engine, hoping to become more knowledgeable in machine learning.
We met with the CEO of the startup, Mr. Richard Wen, for lunch to discuss our tasks and get to know each other better. After chatting about our personal lives and Singapore travel plans, we dove into the main project: building a video management system platform. We would model this surveillance platform after Kerberos, an existing platform that allows for the recording, storage, and viewing of live video feeds. I spent the first half of the internship performing training exercises and acting as a product analyst, preparing presentations about the Kerberos Agent, Vault, and Hub along with the integration of these three products. I learned a valuable soft skill during this time, which was the art of creating easily digestible and visually appealing presentations. Paired with the technical skills I learned from researching each computer science term, I gained a well-rounded skillset from the research stage. My PowerPoint decks contained appendices with dozens of terms, which were all unfamiliar to me prior to working at TNS. In the second half of the internship, I was directed to take a more hands-on approach to building the VMS platform and reverse-engineer Kerberos. I converted my Macbook camera into an RTSP H264 encoded stream and set up a 4x4 video surveillance grid with placeholder streams. I then configured Kerberos to use YOLO, an AI algorithm for video processing and object detection. By taking a close look at the YOLOv7 processing Python files, I learned how to adjust the threshold for confidence scores to more accurately detect people, animals, or other objects moving in a frame. Overall, TNS has given me an extensive introduction to the world of artificial intelligence and secured my confidence in pursuing a career in this industry.
​Working at TNS helped me achieve my academic goals by encouraging me to read, research, and practice work with artificial intelligence models. I feel affirmed in my choice to follow a machine learning career. My internship has also helped me achieve my personal goal of learning more about cultures outside of the Western sphere. I hope that my future career will allow me to travel and interact with others beyond the United States, and this internship has provided me with the necessary competence to handle cultural differences with grace.
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Skills & Proficiencies
PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES
C++
Python
Javascript
HTML/CSS
WEB DEV TOOLS
React.js
Node.js
Flask
CLOUD COMPUTING
Docker
Kubernetes
DATABASES
MongoDB
Pinecone
MACHINE LEARNING
PyTorch
LANGUAGES
English
TensorFlow
YOLOv7
Spanish
COMPUTER VISION TECHNIQUES
As part of my work at Three North Stars, I used YOLO, an AI-powered real-time object detection algorithm. This computer vision technique enhances the security and monitoring capabilities of the video surveillance system. I edited video processing files and adjusted the confidence score thresholds in order to reduce error in the AI detection, such as wrongfully categorizing an object. This task provided me with a sufficient introduction to machine learning algorithms, specifically those that involve computer vision.
LEADERSHIP
I joined the UF chapter of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers as a MentorSHPE Director in my first year. In a team of three, I directed mentorship activities for nearly 150 mentors and mentees in the organization. Devising 4 weekly challenges, holding regular meetings, hosting games/socials, and sending out reminders, I learned the incredible impact that diligent leadership can have on a community. I helped create new friendships within SHPE and fostered a sense of togetherness for the organization. I have recently earned a spot as First Year Leadership Program Director for the upcoming semester, in which I will guide a group of select freshmen through their first moments at UF and inspire leadership skills in SHPE's newest generation of students.
C++ PROGRAMMING: MINESWEEPER
