UPR’s ACM-ICPC Competitors

You wonder around campus and find yourself in Naturales for some reason, standing in front of the infamous Sapo. You see a glass door after entering through the main hall, to your left. Some astonishing individuals walk past you. And then it hits you. The kids who no one ever understood, those ones who loved comics, or just really genuinely enjoyed staying hours awake to find out ways to know how things work, those very same are sheltered in the Computer Science major program.  They see what many of us failed to visualize as a generation: the power of technology.  

On November 10, the University of Puerto Rico had 3 students represent them in a programming competition in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.  As a true believer that everyone deserves their story to be told, it was about time for the Computer Science major to get out of their shelf and show you what they are made of. Jeffrey, José and Alejandro come from 3 different backgrounds, hometowns and lifestyles, Even though they have the same twisted humor, their personalities can clash with one another. This programming competition got these 3 minds working together as one representing all gallitos and jerezanas out there. They are the definition of underdogs, by having a rough start in the classifying rounds, yet, in the end they prevailed and gave people something to talk about.

(from left to right: Alejandro Vega Nogales, Jose Reyes Zayas and Jeffrey Chan Santiago)

Name: Jeffrey A. Chan Santiago/ José A. Reyes Zayas/ Alejandro Salvador Vega Nogales

Age: 22/ 20/ 21

Hometown: San Juan / Ponce / Humacao

Classification: Senior/ Junior / Junior

Major: Computer Science and Math / Computer Science / Physics

HC-UPR: Tell us about yourselves.

JC: I am passionate about programming. I like creating and participating in practical projects involving embedded devices, web development, and other technologies. 

JR: I read comics and like odd programming languages.

AV: I plead the fifth.

HC-UPR: Why study CCOM?

JC: CCOM is fun, practical, there’s plenty of job opportunities, and you have pretty flexible work hours.

JR: CCOM is cool. It’s interesting beyond just programming. You can learn how to categorize and approach real life problems in an efficient manner. In a way, you’re future-proofing your life.  

AV: To be honest, it’s fascinating. People have these powerful devices and resources at their fingertips; yet most of us don’t have an idea about how and why they work. I think Computer Science is a bad name. It’s like calling Surgery “Science of sharp knives”. If you like to solve problems, know how all this technology around you works, and want to work in a fascinating field then Computer Science is for you.

HC-UPR: Explain what is the AECC to you?

JC: To me, it’s a place where you can find fellow students with similar interests. We’re currently working to increase interest in competitive programming activities such as the ACM-ICPC.

JR: “The organization where I’m president” *mic drop*

AV: I would describe it as the worst place where you can meet the best people or vice-versa…depends on the day. I think you can have some really fascinating conversations with some really cool people, but you can also have a really unproductive day.

HC-UPR: What is the ICPC exactly?

JR: The ACM-ICPC is the International Intercollegiate Programming Contest organized by ACM. 

HC-UPR: What made you participate?

JC: I always wanted to participate but had previously not had the free time to participate. I was attracted because it’s a very challenging and prestigious competition.

JR: Alejandro forced me to sign up. 

AV: I was curious and went to the first meeting. I thought it provided a good challenge and a way to improve my skills so I decided it would be fun to participate.

HC-UPR: What did you consider to be your biggest challenge?

JC: Playing catch up with the other teams since we are at a disadvantage in terms of preparation. Some of these teams train all year for this competition, but in our department we only trained around 3 months. The department is going to change this so we can be better prepared for future competitions.

JR: Getting funding to pay for all the travel expenses involved in the competition.

AV: Having the correct answer and method, but due to nuances in the automated judging getting the wrong answer. It’s frustrating to learn that we had the correct approach and answer, received a wrong answer, and later finding out that another team had the exact same approach with another language and they received the corrected answer. You can’t really train for that and it’s really frustrating to hit that obstacle. 

HC-UPR: Strengths and weaknesses as a team:

JC: Strength: I think we have a solid grasp of the languages we used in the competition. Weakness: Lack of competitiveness and organization. 

JR: Strength: The top-tier mentorship from Prof Remi. Weakness: Sometimes we lacked the common ground to discuss a problem.

AV: Joke answer: Strength: Jeffrey; weakness: Jeffrey. Serious Answer: I think Prof. Megret’s excellent coaching was a great resource to our team.  In terms of weakness, I think we’re currently lacking in understanding our individual strengths and weaknesses and what kind of problems we each are best suited at tackling in competitions like these. 

HC-UPR: What did you take from this competition?

JC: A cool bag with a shirt and an entry in our resumes.

JR: My first experience in competitive programming.

AV: A sense of “I think we could have a chance”.

HC-UPR: An anecdote from the ICPC:

JC: After the ceremony, we waited for José to finish an interview for a summer internship. After we were done, around three guards escorted us to the dining room.

JR:  Some guards stopped our ride to the airport. The driver told them we were tourists. They went away.

AV: It was kind of interesting and funny to watch the professors talk about their studies, argue, and joke around. 

HC-UPR: How do you apply what you’ve learned to what you’re studying?

JC: I program more efficiently now. 

JR: I can recognize different approaches to solving problems now.

AV: I think participating in the ICPC has affected the way I code a bit. I also learned some techniques I can apply in my study.

HC-UPR: What was the outcome of your participation?

JC: We finished the first exercise before most of the other teams. We ended up solving two problems. We finished 11th place in the Dominican site and 37th place (out of 43) overall.

JR: We received an honorable mention for most improved team compared to the previous competition.

AV: We didn’t finish in last place.

HC-UPR: What are your goals? Long Term? Short Term?

JC: Short term: Get an internship. Maybe graduate. Long term: Become a founder of a Startup. 

JR: Short term: Get an internship.  That’s as far ahead as I planned…

AV: Long term: Get a master’s degree. Probably work in the industry.  Short term: Not dying. Starting undergraduate research and participating in a summer internship.

HC-UPR: Anything you would like to say to other students to encourage them to participate?

JC: It’s a great opportunity and it’s worth participating.

JR: It’s a good way to test and improve your skills.

AV: I definitely want to welcome other students to participate.  We’re going to be working with the department to increase the amount of training we offer so we can do even better in future competitions. I think participating will make you a better computer scientist.

HC-UPR: Describe yourself in 3 words:

JC: High-Level, Dynamic, and Asynchronous

JR: yo no sé.

AV: I don’t wanna.