About Me
Hi, I'm Andrew Wagger!
Feel free to contact me here
Computer Science Undergraduate at the University of Maryland
I'm currently a third year student studying Computer Science at the University of Maryland.
I went through the UMD Scholars program Environment Technology and Economy (ETE), which explores how the different systems in the world around us interact, and how we can use that to work to a better future. After completing the program, I was awarded the Scholars Citation Class of 2025 Citizenship Award.
I've taken courses on compilers, algorithms, and programming language design,formal verification, networking, as well as classes on computation and complexity theory.
I am currently taking courses on Ramsey theory, advanced compiler construction, and advanced data structures.
Operations Director at WMUC-FM College Park
I currently run the operations for UMD's student-run radio station, WMUC-FM College Park. WMUC hosts free-form student and alumni DJs for weekly shows, hosts its own weekly live show featuring local bands, publishes its own semesterly zine, and runs community events.
As Operations Director, I manage bookings of our live room and recording studio space for local bands and artists, providing direct facility access for our staff members and DJs, event planning, communication with UMD facilities management, and more.
My time as Operations director has given me a great deal of leadership experience. The staff team is over 40 and the general body of those who use the station well exceeds 100. It requires a good ability to negotiate between different groups who have different needs and visions, proper management and scheduling of the radio station's space, strong leadership, and good people skills to work with many different kinds of students and faculty. I have really grown as a leader and communicator through being in such a big and varied space such as WMUC.
Teaching Assistant for UMD's Computer Science Department
I have been a teaching assistant for computer science classes on discrete math, C, and Java.
As a TA, I run discussion sections for students, hold office hours, and grade projects/exams.
Teaching a course rather than taking it requires a much deeper understanding of the mateiral. To be able to explain effectively to a variety of students takes a strong intuition for the content and flexible mind, as each student interprets the material in different ways depending on their learning style and past experiences. I've gained many more perspectives on computer science through my time as a TA that has helped me better undertsand new mateiral in other settings.
Past Experiences
Instructor for UMD Computer Science class: A Tour of Programming Languages
I, along with two other students, instructed a Student Initiated Course (STIC) at UMD in the Fall 2025 semester.
We taught a variety of programming languages as well as the philosophy behind them.
I created and gave presentations on different programming languages as well as created coding projects to test the student's knowledge of the material.
The programming languages we taught in Fall 2025 were:
Lua, Go, Prolog, COBOL, J, Forth, Miranda, Befunge, Intercal.
The variety of programming languages work wildly different from each other and require different ways of thinking about coding. The way to code a sorting algorithm in a pure functional language like Miranda is alien to the way one would code a similar algorithm in an imperative language like Cobol. Languages like J are so specialized and terse that coding in them often seems more like an art. Exploring the possibilities of programming languages has taught me how to better learn, utilize, and appeciate the unique tools and strengths of each programming I learn for work or for fun.
Researcher for UMD's Research Experience for Undergradutates Program
Over Summer 2025, I worked in a research group in UMD's Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Combinatorics, Algorithms, and AI for Real Problems (CAAR) program
We researched the non-Euclidean distance metric called the Hilbert Metric. We focused on algorithms to calculate Voronoi (closest point) diagrams of the k-th degree.
I worked on the final Voronoi algorithm as well as coding visualization software to implement our algorithms as well as other geometric structures of the Hilbert Metric.
The research and visualization software required a great deal of teamwork to get completed, and my fellow researchers and I needed to have a strong ability to coordinate our skills together to create the algorithms we wanted. it also required quite a but of my creative thinking skills to develop novel algorithms. I used my deep knowledge of data structures and algorithm design to create the visualization software for representations of geometric structures few have ever handled before, such as shapes made from piecewise conic sections.
A paper on the software is being submitted to the International Symposium on Computational Geometry 2026.
Technology Director for TIC Summer Camp Maryland
Over Summer 2024, I, along with four other directors, lead the Maryland branch of TIC Summer Camp.
As Technology Director, I ran the technology portion of the camp. I managed a team of 14 counselors that taught campers from elementary to high school programming, robotics, animation, and more.
Running a summer camp is no easy feat, and that summer I got to grow my leadership, teamwork, and communication skills. My job involved working with people of all ages: campers, counselors, and parents. That experience has made me exceptionally comfortable communicating with all different types of people in a variety of potentially difficult scenarios. While there were a lot of planned activities throughout the summer, things often had to be improvised, and on-the-spot thinking and creativity was paramount to making the summer the best it could be for the campers. The experience left me with a much better idea of how to be a good leader and teammate that I have been able to apply to almost every aspect of my academic and professional life.
Website Manager at WMUC-FM College Park
I was the website manager for UMD's student-run radio station, WMUC-FM College Park in 2024.
During my time, I coded up the website redesign from the graphic design team that better reflected our style as well as has improved functionality. I managed the radio's Ubuntu webserver that hosts its audio streams, website, backend services, show archive, analytics database, blog, and wiki. I also added a new analytics system that stores site users and which pages are viewed.
I developed my web development skills considerably in technologies such as React, Next.js, and Typescript. It also gave me experience designing and updating apps based on the needs and specifications of the DJs and staff who use the website frequently. It really allowed me to develop my web development skills, as well as get more experience in IT management and planning.
