Kai Kingman
Mentor: Dr. Alexis Palmer, CU Boulder
I’ve been working with Dr. Palmer for about half a year now. She is a professor at CU Boulder Department of Linguistics who specializes in computational linguistics. I’ve had many exciting discussions with her, and it was enlightening to talk with a professional in my field of interest. After some brainstorming, I proposed a project to her where I would analyze different casual Spanish dialects on social media. I am currently working on that project, and am learning so much about both linguistics and computer science. I am creating a python program in order to gather a dataset from Twitter’s API in order to make progress on the project. I will then compare different posts from Spanish speakers based on location and context.
As far as other linguistic ventures, I am learning French and German and have also started a club based around linguistics here at STEM.
Being under the mentorship of Dr. Palmer has been an incredible experience. It is inspiring to talk with someone who is so knowledgeable and passionate about her field of work, and I have learned so much from her, even through just casual conversation and discussion. I have received deeper insight into linguistics and its academics than I could’ve ever hoped for, and the entire process has fostered interest for the study of language in me to the extent where I have even started a club at STEM around it. Above all, I am just grateful for the opportunity to learn from someone like Dr. Palmer. This has had a significant positive impact on my life and career.
Kai also has been accepted to the Lockheed Martin Summer Internship Program.