How This CompSci Major Is Working to Expand Access to AI and Digital Learning

What started as a sibling rivalry sparked a passion for computer science that now is helping to inform Every Learner Everywhere’s support for AI and digital learning advancements.

Noel Berhanu, a junior at the University of Maryland, College Park, is part of Every Learner’s spring 2025 cohort of interns. In work that builds on efforts of the summer and fall 2024 cohorts, the spring interns are developing a toolkit about artificial intelligence for instructors.

Growing up in a Washington, D.C., suburb, Berhanu was consumed by soccer. Then at age 10 he saw his 12-year-old brother completing a project running computer programs to do basic tasks. Berhanu, who’d never been exposed to coding before, decided he could do better.

So he gave coding a try and realized that he was right. He excelled at it and enjoyed it. Soon, he was dreaming less about playing soccer professionally and more about a career in software development.

“I had no idea I’d be good at it,” Berhanu says. “But I was competitive, and we always had a rivalry. Then I found I actually had a genuine interest in coding, and that’s why I chose it as my career path.”

Encouraging access for every student

Berhanu’s passion for coding has led him to a variety of technology-related academic, volunteer, and vocational pursuits.

In addition to studying computer science at UMD, he serves as president of Code: Black, a campus organization that works to increase the involvement of students in groups traditionally underrepresented in computing. He regularly participates in hackathons at UMD, working on teams to complete various programming projects.

He has also been an instructor for the Tech Turn Up summer camp in the Washington, D.C., area, teaching the basics of the Java programming language.

Each of these activities has allowed him to pursue his interests in problem solving, coding, and promoting broad interest in and access to technology and tech education.

In fact, it was Berhanu’s 2024 work with Tech Turn Up, providing coding education to children between the ages of 9 and 13 who otherwise might not have had the opportunity, that solidified those interests. He’s committed to ensuring not only that every student can get high-quality digital education, but also that instructors have the tools to provide it.

“It’s a handful to have a lot of students all at once,” Berhanu says. “A toolkit about AI would have helped me share information more efficiently. That’s what compelled me to apply for the internship and why I’m so happy to be part of the Every Learner team.”

Demystifying AI for instructors, students

Berhanu and his fellow interns are studying ways that text and image generators, along with other AI and digital learning tools, can help students learn. They’re developing a single platform that serves as a one-stop shop for information about various types of AI and their uses in instruction and coursework.

The work has both instructors and students in mind. The goal for the toolkit is to familiarize faculty with AI and to help students develop the AI skills they need to succeed in school and in the workplace.

“We want teachers to use AI as more of a tool instead of thinking of it as a cheating platform,” Berhanu says. “The toolkit will be a great way for teachers who are not that familiar with AI to help their students integrate it into their work, giving students a chance to see how it can impact their lives. There are great ways to use AI to educate students, and we want to show its wonders.”

He also believes his work with young people has given him a user-side perspective that will inform the project.

“I’m looking at it through the lens of the student,” he explains. “What am I going to put in this toolkit that’s going to help this student excel? And what can I add to this toolkit to make a kid think that machine learning or computer science is a suitable career path for them?”

Sparking lifelong interest in AI

For Berhanu, the collaborative work he’s doing in his Every Learner internship is adding to the knowledge and experience gained in his computer science studies and his coding work with students. He has plans for a software engineering internship in summer 2025 and will complete his undergraduate work in 2026, after which he plans to start his long-anticipated career in technology.

For now, though, he’s focused on ensuring that instructors and students alike recognize AI’s value and its applications in education — and in life.

“I want every student to have the same spark of curiosity that I had when I saw my brother doing that assignment,” Berhanu says. “How can I make them find this interesting? That’s how I’m tackling this internship.”