Decoding the Algorithm of Ambition.

Project: From Swim Lane to Systems Thinking

My experience building the Swim Technique Academy was the first time I truly understood the delicate balance between individual adaptation and organizational coordination. My clients' success depended on their ability to adapt their body to new techniques I taught them, while my business's success depended on my ability to coordinate a structured, repeatable curriculum for over a hundred families. It was a real-world, high-stakes application of a theoretical problem I would later encounter in a Princeton lab.

My journey from the pool deck to the digital lab began in prison, where I devoured books on systems thinking, psychology, and organizational strategy. I realized that the same frameworks I used to build my business were the very tools I needed to understand the chaos of my own life. The swim lane and the prison cell were, in a sense, the same place: a controlled environment where I could observe, test, and refine my understanding of how people learn, change, and grow.

Today, my research with the Velez CoLab at Princeton is a direct continuation of that journey. We investigate a fundamental tension in teamwork: the conflict between adapting to new information and coordinating with others. In the same way I had to tailor a swimming program to an individual's unique needs, my work now involves modifying and analyzing a single-player game to test how human intuition weighs these factors.

The ultimate goal, however, remains the same as it was on the pool deck: to create environments where individuals are empowered to thrive without sacrificing the success of the group. It's a journey from the chlorine-scented water of a local YMCA to the pristine halls of Princeton, all in pursuit of a single question: how can we empower collaboration? My past experiences, particularly as a swim coach, were not a detour; they were my training for this.

Project: The Coordination-Adaptation Tradeoff

Why are small startups nimble, while big companies are slow? My research explores this tradeoff. In teams, individuals must balance adapting to new information (like a volleyball player moving for the ball) against the risk of miscoordinating with teammates (crashing into them). My work involves modifying and analyzing a single-player game to test how human intuition weighs these factors, laying the groundwork for future multiplayer experiments in team dynamics.

Rutgers Honors College: From Founder to Scholar

My journey to Rutgers Honors College is a continuation of a lifelong mission to understand and build systems that work for people. From founding my own swim academy to collaborating with my fitness clients through a tech-forward app, I've always been driven by the question of how to connect disparate parts into a cohesive, functional whole. At Rutgers, my pursuit of a Computer Science degree is about mastering the technical skills needed to build solutions, while the Honors Living-Learning Community provides a deep, empathetic understanding of the human systems they will serve.

This dual focus is not a coincidence; it is my strategic foundation. My acceptance into the Honors College and the HLLC has provided a unique opportunity to continue the research started on human collaboration through the NSF REU Computational Cognitive Science program at Princeton. This fall, I will be continuing my work from my Rutgers HLLC dorm to the Princeton's Velez CoLab through an independent studies - research study. My goal is to bridge the worlds of academic theory and entrepreneurial application. I aim to create and implement solutions in the tech industry that address significant human challenges, informed by a rigorous understanding of the systems that shape our lives.

My work at Rutgers will be dedicated to proving that the most powerful innovations are born at this intersection—where a builder's passion for entrepreneurship meets a scholar's dedication to understanding human behavior. My goal is to develop technology that not only solves problems but empowers people to navigate the systems they face every day, transforming the way we connect and collaborate for a better future.