August 23 2018

Meet the officers!

Hello hello! Meet the incredible people behind ACM!


Saman Attar - President

Tell us about yourself

I am a senior studying Software Engineering with a focus on Information Assurance. I like to cook, kayak, and break builds. I lived the majority of my life in Southern California before moving to Texas. I think Aglio e Olio and Cacio e Pepe are the best pastas.

What’s at the top of your bucket list?

One day I would like to earn a pilots license.

Advice for the fishies:

As a freshman, all I wanted was to rush through college and get out. It took me a while to realize all the awesome things I can do with my life during these years. There are so many interesting people to meet, things to learn, and experiences to have. Also, it doesn’t matter if you were in the top 3% of your high school class or top 75%. This is a chance to reinvent yourself. I was never a great student in high school, but I decided to make an effort to change that in college, to get more involved and pursue things I’m passionate about. A lot of extra time went into doing it, but I haven’t regretted a minute of it. It has made me a stronger developer, a more accountable leader, and a better friend.


Matthew Bierman - Vice President

Tell us about yourself

CS major, junior
Experiences: Interned at AT&T this summer
From Las Vegas, NV
Color of my toothbrush: Blue
Favorite dessert: Cookie dough ice cream

What’s at the top of your bucket list?

Visiting Milan, Italy

Advice for the fishies

Try learning and creating side projects outside of class! Companies love to see that you’re going above and beyond. It’ll make your resume stand out when applying for competitive internships or full-time positions.

Anything else that’s interesting?

Apply for ACM Projects!! It was how I started my involvement with ACM two years ago and I’m still friends with most of my teammates. I still talk about the Smart Lock project I created in Projects during all of my interviews.


Sid Devic - Education

Here I am in my natural state: sleep

Tell us about yourself

Hi all! I’m Sid, a CS and Math sophomore. I’m interested in cs research, and work in the Advanced Network Research Lab (ANRL) on campus. My dream is to attend graduate school for computer science! (I don’t want to get a real job :D)

What’s at the top of your bucket list?

At the top of my bucket list is probably meeting a famous politician, like Barack Obama. It would be super cool to have lunch with a dude who has gone through some much, and has had to make such difficult decisions. Maybe I would finallly be able to choose a dinner place quicker…

Advice for the fishies

My advice is to do some side projects! Find some data, or play around with a new technology. Although programs like ACM Projects are great, if you can get yourself interested in a topic, you will succeed regardless of your involvement!


Shannen Barrameda - Projects

Tell us about yourself

2nd Year Computer Science
From Southern California!!!
favorite dessert: anything with chocolate except mint chocolate foods bc they taste like toothpaste to me
favorite food: sushi
I live to eat, not eat to live but that also means I need to gym ~4 times a week.
i love ALL dogs equally, though I don’t have any to call my own :( :disappointed:
i like to do watercolor calligraphy or go to art museums in my free time.

Fun fact: I can fit an M&M or Skittle in my dimple.

What’s at the top of your bucket list?

Travel to every single continent. I’ve only been to 3 so far.

Advice for the fishies

Don’t be afraid to talk to upperclassmen! and take risks even if they’re quite scary! try everything! being a student is a blessing, so take advantage of every single moment.


Matthew Le - HackUTD

I am not a hugger and I didn't realize how hairy Rafiki's beard was.

Tell us about yourself

Heyo! My name is Matthew and I am a junior majoring in Computer Science. If I look familiar, it may because I work at the Computer Science Mentor Center and you probably asked me to help you with your homework. I was born in Florida and currently live in the far away land called Plano. I primarily go to hackathons to build dumb things and not win. Hackathon fact: the experience you get is the true prize.

What’s at the top of your bucket list?

Go to New Zealand and re-enact the Lord of the Rings.

Advice for the fishies

As a freshman, you will have the most free time you will ever have in your college career. Use that time to get ahead in whatever goals you set out to do in college, whether that goal is academic, social, or professional. UT Dallas has plenty of opportunities and organizations to get involved with. Join the ones that interest you even if you feel like it may not give you a huge return initially. Also, don’t do drugs.


Frank Yang - Finance

Tell us about yourself

Hello I am Frank and I am a junior majoring in CS and minor in finance. I moved to Texas from Taiwan 10 years ago, so I am pretty fluent in Mandarin! I also play club volleyball and various sports, so let me know if you wanna smash some balls!

What’s at the top of your bucket list?

Europe Tour and get to Masters in League of Legends

Advice for the fishies

Be a genius or go to class


Ritika Shrivastava - Public Relations

Tell us about yourself

I am a junior studying Computer Science at UT Dallas. I am a 5 years trained Kathak dancer and I am super interested in screenplays. I LOVEEE authentic Asian food that is not too greasy. My favourite TV show is How to Get Away with Murder. I have read the screenplay of Gone Girl and the TV show Big Little Lies about 5 times each. I tend to write in British English as I grew up in India. KAYAKING IS AWESOME!

What’s at the top of your bucket list?

Get a license to scuba dive and then go scuba diving 😀

Advice for the fishies

Get over the fear of failing and give things a try any way 😀 You never know what could happen!

Anything else that’s interesting?

Try to explore your creative sides as well as your technical and maybe combine the two 😀


Bharat Arimilli - Labs

Tell us about yourself

Hey! My name is Bharat and I am a senior majoring in Computer Science. I was born in Baltimore, Maryland but I grew up in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia where my dad worked for an oil company and then I later went to boarding school in New Hampshire for high school. I’ve been an ACM officer since my freshman year so I’m a bit of a dinosaur around here 😁. I also work for the campus newspaper, The Mercury, so be sure to look out for our papers across campus!

What’s at the top of your bucket list?

I have basically no cool celebrity encounters to speak of so it’d pretty cool if that finally happened to me some day.

Advice for the fishies

College is about more than just the classroom! Get out there, get involved, meet new people and take advantage of everything this incredible campus has to offer. Even as a freshman, get working on side projects and learn new skills outside of class. The tech industry moves way too fast for our curriculums to keep up. You’ll learn amazing things along the way and you’ll be able to show companies that you’re motivated and passionate!


Whoosh!