Person of the Week: Krish Suchdev

Keyboard clatter fills the room as junior Krish Suchdev intently looks at his computer screen showing an array of technical programs that only those who know computer science could begin to understand. Most students do not know his name or his story, but they know his work. They look at it every day without even knowing it. His work gives the information needed to succeed at school. His work is the Cy Woods app.

“Originally, the first app was to have students see what was going on at the Woods and check their grades,” Suchdev said. “It was nothing too fancy. It kept students informed.”

Suchdev’s Cy Woods app follows this trend set by the first one three years ago.

“The app bases off of that original idea, but it is going more in depth of keeping students informed about their grades and what was going on in school,” Suchdev said. “The same principles, but informing students more.”

Even with the purpose staying constant, Suchdev has made some alterations that make this one different from its two predecessors.

“The major emphasis is on grades,” Suchdev said. “The last two simply told you what you have in a class and on each assignment. I wanted to go more in depth of saying what you need on the next one to get an A in the class. It shows how much each one is worth, so you can better predict the grade you need.”

Suchdev hopes, by allowing them to have greater access to more information about their grades, students can be more aware of their grades and what they need to do.

“I know some students over look grades; they do not think of it as too much of a big deal,” Suchdev said. “In reality, it actually is, so by having the app more emphasized on grades, students put more work into grades where it is actually important.”

The new Cy Woods app has only been released for one week, but it is already being put to the test.

“There are some situations that have come up,” Suchdev said. “We had to start with a clean slate, so there will be problems. I knew that was going to come up. I am already working on those, but for the most part, the app is having a huge impact on students. Students are coming into tests saying ‘I need this, and once I get this, I am good in this class.”

Suchdev designed the app for his peers while also preparing his peers to take the reigns once he leaves.

“It was a really cool experience to have the whole school and possibly other schools download the app,” Suchdev said. “Also, getting students more informed and into computer science is good because after I graduate I will not be able to work on this anymore. As more people get interested in how it is developed, and I know people are, I will get more people to work on the app too.”

With the app recently released, Suchdev already has ideas to improve it.

“I have a lot of ideas going off that principle idea of getting students more informed, but I am not going to mention any of them yet,” Suchdev said. “It is not more about the app; it is more about the students’ impact for the app. A lot of people say ‘this app needs this’ and I listen to that because it is about the impact it has on students and parents at then end of the day.”

With graduation approaching, Suchdev plans to eventually hand down the Cy Woods app and go beyond it into the field of computer science.

“My goal in high school is to get this experience,” Suchdev said. “I am not just making apps though. I am competing in competitions and watching videos on how to do things computer science related, so by the time I graduate, I will have a broad perspective. When I get into college, whichever field I want to go into, I will have an understanding of that and everything else. It is like becoming a scientist; you need to know all parts of it.”