Hey. I'm Tailai.
I'm a software developer, student leader, and change-maker.
Scroll down to get to know me :)
About Me
In case you were wondering... It's pronounced "Tie-Lie" and it originates from an old Chinese proverb.
I'm a 2B Computer Science and Business Administration Double Degree student at the University of Waterloo. I have a burning passion for technology and a desire to empower and impact my communities.
In my spare time, I love rock climbing, hiking, and the outdoors. I regularly attend and organize hackathons to meet inspiring people and develop cool stuff. I'm also a community leader with heavy involvement in different initiatives centered around education and youth athletics.
I've previously interned as an iOS Engineer at the Sonova Innovation Lab and as a BTSS Analyst for the Production Engineering team at Questrade, and worked as a full-stack engineer at knct. Feel free to contact me if you have any interesting opportunities!
Blog
I write sometimes (poorly).
The Beginner's Guide to Online Hackathons
Tips and tricks from knowing a little about a lot
Jul. 11th, 2020
Reading for Growth and Inspiration
What I learned about the world and myself through my month of literature and motivational quotes
Dec. 27th, 2019
Showcase
A little collection of what I've been up to recently!
See My Devpost Profile for some of the projects I've worked on.
BU111 Live Case Competition
Won 2nd Place at the 2019 BU111 Live Case Competition, sponsored by HP.
Hack the North 2019
Won the Accenture Prize at Hack the North 2019 for tourhub, our Firebase web app! (see GitHub)
Student Advocacy
Served the VMSS community by leading the movement to save the Moduflex timetabling system. Was also active in the province-wide #StudentsSayNo protests.
ANS/CCP
Longtime volunteer, 2017 executive and 2018 co-chair for the All-Night Social and Children's Christmas Party at Vincent Massey S.S.
MasseyHacks
Served as MH4 Outreach Executive and MH5 Head of Activities. Generated over $3000 in event sponsorship and organized event programming at Canada's largest high-school MLH hackathon.
Outdoors Enthusiast
Avid rock climber, hiker, and snowboarder. Love the outdoors and the fascinating stories that come with it.
Varsity Athletics
4-year Varsity Athlete at VMSS, earning unanimous WECSSAA All-City Honors for Sr. Boys Volleyball in 2019.
Aquatics Instructor
Worked as a Senior Lifeguard and Aquatics Instructor at the University of Windsor and at Adventure Bay Family Water Park.
BorderCityHacks
Won 1st Place at BorderCityHacks II for anKNOWtate, a Java GUI that used Google Cloud Vision to process text for English Students
Math Enrichment
Windsor Math Enrichment Program student under Dr. J Bruce White, with honor roll finishes in multiple CEMC contests.