Wheaton News

Tushar Koushik ’26 learning and sharing new skills as teaching assistant

Tushar Koushik ’26 spent part of the summer in a classroom in the Diana Davis Spencer Discovery Center Dedicated to Free Speech and Innovation—not as a student but as a teaching assistant.

In the “AI for Good” course, which was one of the offerings in Wheaton’s Pre-College Programs, he confidently worked with rising high school juniors and seniors enrolled in the class, engaging in philosophical conversations about the new tool and teaching professional methods for accomplishing tasks such as data cleaning and organization.

“I wanted to become a TA because I enjoy spending time with students and sharing my knowledge,” said Koushik. “I have been teaching my younger cousins for several years and I love explaining what I know to curious minds. It helps me improve my communication skills and learn to tailor my explanations to different audiences.”

Professor of Computer Science Mark LeBlanc, who taught “AI for Good” from July 6 through August 2, relied on Koushik throughout the course. 

“Tushar is a wonderful TA. He is infinitely patient when working with students and operates in the classroom and lab like another professor,” he said.

For 20 hours each week, Koushik helped the students understand the material, encouraged them to ask questions, and provided input on LeBlanc’s lesson plans. And once a week, Koushik assumed the lead teaching role and presented material to the students, which was his favorite part of his role.

In the pre-college course, students used AI to test its capabilities and discussed the ethics of using AI—especially for completing academic assignments.

“There has been a lot of debate about AI. Is it good or bad?” said Koushik. “AI is a big help in computer science, but we want other majors to understand the importance of AI and how they can use it in their own fields.” 

In addition to assisting with teaching this summer, Koushik is expanding his own knowledge in AI. Since May, he has been participating in a selective innovative program at MIT called Break Through Tech AI. The 18-month program aims to help students from underrepresented groups gain skills to secure jobs in AI, data science and machine learning.

“I am really interested in machine learning, which is the way to train machines how to communicate with humans through the use of data,” said Koushik. “It combines my interests in math and analytical computer science and fascinates me with its open-ended questions and ability to find the answers to the questions no one has found before.”

After completing an eight-week online course and in-person lab experience at MIT, he will be among 300 Greater Boston area college students assigned to work on group projects for global companies.

As a computer science major who is passionate about math, Koushik is learning coding at Wheaton. 

“I became interested in data science because it combines math with coding,” he said. “I enjoy coding to solve data analytics problems and explore how chatbots and algorithms like recommendation systems and fraud detection are built.” 

With the help of Wheaton mathematics professors Michael Kahn and Tommy Ratliff, Koushik developed an independent second major in data science. 

After graduating, Koushik hopes to gain experience as either a data scientist or machine learning engineer and eventually become a data analyst. Working as a teaching assistant this summer and participating in the MIT program will contribute to the career path he has mapped out.

He traveled an interesting road to Wheaton. A native of Assam, India, Koushik came to the United States in 2022 and lived with his aunt and uncle in Denver for a year. He enrolled at the Community College of Denver, where he was a member of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society, served as a chemistry tutor and worked with a student group to design and build an autonomous robot through the NASA Colorado Space Grant Consortium.

Koushik transferred to Wheaton in 2023, where he is social media coordinator for the Intercultural Board and a member of the Computer Science Club.

A voracious learner and seeker of personal and professional development experiences, Koushik speaks six languages (Assamese, English, Hindi, Nepali, Sanskrit and Urdu) and is currently learning Spanish. In addition to being a teaching assistant for the pre-college program, he is also a research assistant for Justin Schupp, associate professor of sociology, helping with data collection, cleaning and analysis for two of Schupp’s research projects.

Koushik is eager to see how he will be able to leverage what he is learning through all of his hands-on experiences to find a position in his chosen field and give back to his native community.

“I hope to take the value of what I learn here back to India so I can help the thousands of students who are looking for these opportunities,” he said. “Data analysis helps U.S. businesses grow. I want my part of India to understand the importance of data analysis and machine learning to businesses, so that they can also grow.” 

LeBlanc, whom Koushik considers a mentor, has enjoyed getting to know him and watching him expand his knowledge and skills since he arrived on campus. 

“From day one his ambitious passion for learning was evident, and his professional manner and attention to detail stand out,” said LeBlanc. “His tenacious thirst to learn and build, and his charming personality point to a wonderful and successful career for him post-Wheaton.”