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This is the story of Melody Yu, a competitive programmer (competes in USACO Platinum Division) who founded Irvine Coding Club and Project Starcoder. This accomplishment is extraordinary by itself, yet it’s even more impressive when you find out that she is only a high school freshman this year. In fact, she founded the two organizations when she was in middle school. Since discovering Irvine Coding Club myself a few weeks ago, I wanted to find out about her story. Despite the fact that it is run by middle school students, its professionalism and organizational skills seem comparable to that of a well established high school non-profit (or even exceed in some aspects). Clearly, she knows what she’s doing (also evident from this interview you'll soon read). Besides her involvement in the two of her own organizations, she also holds an Executive position at Competitive Programming Initiative, another organization dedicated to providing educational resources in competitive programming. (If you recall, I actually interviewed the founder of the CPI, Nathan Wang, two weeks ago). Seeing her as one of the team members of the CPI made me even more curious about her identity. Who is she? I decided to reach out to her for the interview and find out for myself.
Bian Lee: How and when did you first get into programming and how did you develop your skills over time?
Melody Yu: I got into programming pretty young learning basic languages like Python, but didn’t really pursue it until middle school. I took several courses like CS50 to learn the basics and also self-studied languages and data structures!
Bian: How did you discover competitive programming and what did it take develop problem solving skills?
Melody: While learning Python, I found how much I enjoyed programming. Once I learned a bit more (Java, HTML/CSS/Javascript) I started searching up coding competitions - where I found USACO! I did couple of questions and was fascinated by them, so I learned more about the contest. I picked up C++ and studied more data structures, and joined a study group with high school students doing USACO problems. This motivated me to learn and solve questions consistently for over a year. I'd always enjoyed doing puzzles and solving problems, so competitive programming combined my love of problem solving with algorithmic thinking.
Bian: It's really great that you discovered your passion at a young age! What are some tips you have for students aiming to reach the top and compete in the platinum division?
Melody: Build a solid foundation before you start solving problems. I would recommend finishing a data structures and basic algorithms course before seriously programming. That stays as a good foundation for algorithmic thinking and problem solving. It ends up saving a lot of time later on (maybe around Gold level) if you find the right mindset at the beginning. I also recommend finding a group of other students and solving competitive programming problems together because some problems become overwhelming and getting help from peers will speed up your learning process. Some online resources such as the usaco.guide, which are created and managed by top competitors of the world, are great to use!
Bian: I think that's certainly a great advice to beginner programmers or to those who wish to improve their skills particularly in competitive programming. Now, regarding your non-profit -- When and how did you found Irvine Coding Club? Could you describe what your motivations behind it were, and what you do in the organization?
Melody: I co-founded the Irvine Coding Club (https://irvinecoding.club/about) near the end of 2020. Through a competition called ACSL, I met my co-founder Agam Randhawa who also was interested in coding. We both wanted to start a coding club helping more students learn about coding, so the ICC was created. More people started joining, and they brought their interests with them too - math, debate, animation, arduino - and our club organized over 30 lecturers/teacher assistants to develop 9 courses that served over 200 students in one summer (https://irvinecoding.club/summer2021). We focus on bringing coding (and other topics!) to as many people as possible for free, and competing together in competitions (we do hackathons and other coding competitions!). In the 2021-2022 school year, we’re teaching bi-weekly free workshops on different topics!
Bian: That's really cool! What was your inspiration to start Starcoder? And did you build the website by yourself?
Melody: When I was learning math, I found Khan Academy’s online video resources useful, especially to self study and practice. At the level I was at for programming, I wasn’t able to find any similar resources. I made Project Starcoder to not only act as a sort of blog where I would explain and teach the problems I was solving at the time, but also to create something like Khan Academy that provided video resources for students. I did make the website (and art) myself!
Bian: You are an accomplished individual, and you obviously still have 4 years of high school ahead of you as a freshman this year. What are some of your goals you have and what do you wish to pursue in the coming years?
Melody: I definitely want to continue programming, and maybe do something useful for the world with it. I also really do enjoy teaching, and I want to be able to teach and reach more people and show them the use of coding. To be honest, I don’t have many set goals right now; I just want to enjoy life. I’d like to take more time to read books and pursue some other hobbies, and spend time with my friends to enjoy my high school life.
Bian: That definitely sounds like a good idea. What are your future plans for the three organizations that you are part of (Competitive Programming Initiative, Irvine Coding Club, and Project StarCoder)? Or do you have a plan to launch another project?
Melody: I’m incredibly proud to be a part of these organizations, and my main goal for all of them is to further them in any way I can. For the Competitive Programming Initiative, I want to further their outreach and allow the resources (i.e. USACO Guide) to reach more people. For Project StarCoder, my main focus is putting in more curriculum for an extensive website with usable knowledge for cataloguing my own programming knowledge, and hopefully being able to help people quickly find help in programming. Finally, for the Irvine Coding Club, I want to focus on reaching underprivileged children with courses and teaching.
Bian: What's the biggest takeaway or other important things you learned from your accomplishments so far, from your expertise in algorithmic programming, and running non-profits?
Melody: If you put enough time into something, you can succeed. From my (albeit very limited) experience in life, if you put in effort for a skill, the probability of its success goes up. Obviously with some things like hosting events and trying to get students or dealing with a rough member of an organization, there is no guarantee of success and sometimes you just don’t succeed - but the more effort you put in, the higher the probability of your success is.
Bian: That actually reminds me of Thomas Jefferson's quote that goes I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have. What advice would you give to middle school students? I normally ask to give advice to high school students to other people I interview, but since you are a freshman, I think it makes the most sense to address it to middle school students.
Melody: You have the capabilities to do whatever you want. If you want to start an organization in middle school, you can. If you want to start competitive programming, you can. Even if you think people won’t take you seriously, try it out. In my experience, sometimes they will and that’s when it matters!
Bian: I think that's a great advice, one that would definitely be impactful to younger students. I always like to end the interview by asking a fun question, so here it is: What music do you listen to?
Melody: I honestly just listen to whatever my friends listen to, so that’s varied a lot. But I’m currently into musical soundtracks like Beetlejuice!
I find it incredible how there are some people who find passion at a young age, and follow through their goals with extreme determination that eventually results in accomplishments surpassing that of one's age and standard. When asked to give an advice, Melody emphasized that You have the capabilities to do whatever you want. While this isn't an uncommon saying and most people believe it to be true, I wonder if our mindset truly reflects upon it. When I was younger, I didn't think to explore anything new on my own, and I certainly wasn't striving for a certain set goal -- especially if it was out of my comfort zone. What sets Melody apart is her optimistic mindset and confidence in what she's good at, and the limitless goals she has set for herself, and works towards. I'm hopeful that a story like hers would inspire many younger students to realize that they too have much potential in them, and that there is no age restriction to learning. Even to a senior high school student like myself, it is quite inspiring, and it serves as a lesson to have big goals for yourself and put in the efforts everyday. I want to thank Melody for this interview, and I wish her the best for her time in high school!