Being a TA at AddisCoder: A Reflection on the Algorithms Summer Camp for Ethiopian High Schoolers

Cross-posted this on here

I don’t think there’s anything quite like AddisCoder. You walk into a classroom in Addis Ababa, full of the country’s top high school students, and you can almost feel the energy in the air. These are students who’ve carved out a summer not just to study, but to wrestle with algorithms, break their heads over tricky problems, and cheer together when something finally clicks.

And then there’s me. I stood there as a TA on July 28, 2025, along with other highly talented TAs. Not just hovering at the front of the lab rooms, but moving from desk to desk, crouching beside students, watching their faces light up when the code finally runs. Being a TA at AddisCoder isn’t just about lecturing. It’s about rolling up your sleeves, nudging them towards their own discovery, celebrating their breakthroughs, and sometimes just reminding them: “You’ve got this. Try one more time.”

The Work & Daily Rhythm

Before the program even began, we had what we called Week 0. That was our check-in week, flying into Addis, moving into the hotel, meeting each other for the first time, setting up lab computers, preparing materials (labs, quizzes, slides), and just getting used to the city. It was also the week we learned each other’s quirks and who would be the night owl, still formatting problem sets at 2 AM. It was the week we divided up the most of the responsibilities.

Once lectures started in Week 1, things moved fast. Our days began with the hotel’s breakfast buffet, followed by a trip to campus around 7:30 AM. Lectures usually kicked off by 8:00 AM and ran until about 9:30 AM, after which students dove into lab sessions while we TAs circled in the lab rooms, debugging and clarifying concepts. Lunch was from 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM, giving everyone a much-needed pause, and then it was back to lecture at 1:30 PM, followed by more lab time until about 5:00 PM in the evening. Fridays had their own rhythm, with quizzes in the morning while students sweated it out and we graded, then an afternoon lecture, and finally a loser evening where students (tired but happy) would play soccer or volleyball, hang out with us, or simply unwind.

One of the best parts of each day wasn’t even in the classroom. It was lunch at the school canteen. Sitting down with the students, sharing a simple meal, and hearing about the towns and cities they came from was always a highlight. Those moments gave us more than just a break from work. They gave us a window into their lives, their dreams, and the journeys that brought them to AddisCoder. Some conversations started with small talk about hometowns but ended up with questions about university, tech careers, or what they hoped to build for their communities. Other times it was more lighthearted. They’d ask us for career advice one moment and crack jokes with us the next. Those lunches became one of the most genuine spaces to connect and learn from each other.

The program is intense and fast-paced, but so are the students, who are incredibly smart, resilient, and quick to adapt. They pushed us as much as we pushed them.

Outside the Classroom

We TAs shared hotel rooms in pairs (some of us splurged a little to get singles). Laundry? The hotel’s service was pricey, so we often walked to nearby laundromats. Small details like this became part of the shared memory.

Meals became adventures of their own. Breakfast was always the hotel buffet, but for lunch and dinner, we explored. In Week 0 and weekends, we’d often eat outside before the full program pace kicked in. After that, some TAs settled for nearby spots during the week while others ventured out. We tried everything from Marcus Addis Restaurant to Chillies Addis (for Indian food and actually, my favorite), Chanoly, Yod Abyssinia, and plenty more. Food became its own bonding ritual. The table where we recapped the day, shared stories about ourselves, talked about how we could become better teachers, and laughed until everything else faded away.

And then there were the evenings. Card games in the lounge, swapping stories, or heading out to explore Addis Ababa. We visited museums, cultural spots, and cool restaurants. These breaks mattered. They recharged us for the next day and gave us shared memories beyond the classroom.

The Growth

Looking back, one of the biggest gifts of AddisCoder was the people. We came from different majors and backgrounds, which meant we were constantly learning from each other not just CS, but culture, traditions, and perspectives.

Explaining tough CS concepts (recursion, graph algorithms, DP) wasn’t always easy. Sometimes it felt like you were banging your head against the wall until suddenly the student’s eyes lit up and you realized they got it. Along the way, you also learn better ways to break down complex ideas and explain them simply. Those moments are hard to describe, but unforgettable.

And then there was the access we had to the professors. Hours of informal chats, advice about research, grad school, life in CS, what is it like to be a professor. It honestly felt like a one-month free trial of unlimited mentorship. That time was priceless!

What I’ll Remember Most

I’ll always remember the first day jitters, when nobody knew each other yet and everything felt new. The Fridays with their quizzes turned into grading marathons for us TAs, followed by students unwinding with soccer and volleyball, their laughter, the conversation we had with the students. Evenings often brought random card games that stretched late into the night(though I wasn’t a fan of cards), moments of fun that balanced out the intensity of the day. The food adventures stand out, too. Laughing over fiery dishes at Chillies or clapping along to the intense Ethiopian music at Yod Abyssinia, or perhaps the jazz music at Fendika. And of course, the last day. The endless group pictures, the long hugs, and that bittersweet mix of endings and beginnings that made it so hard to say goodbye.

In fact, I’ll carry everything from this experience with me, even what’s hard to capture in just a few words.

Final Words

AddisCoder isn’t just a summer program. It’s a launchpad for students, and it’s a bootcamp for TAs in communication, teaching, patience, different cultures and community. It’s a family.

None of this would be possible without the leadership of the world-renowned Professor Jelani Nelson, to whom I’m deeply grateful.

If you have a CS background and you’re considering applying as a TA, do it. You’ll give a lot, but you’ll also grow in ways you can’t imagine. The application for AddisCoder 2026 is already live and open. Be part of it. Trust me, it’ll be one of the best things you’ll ever do. To do so (or learn more about the program), apply here.

Want to see it from a lecturer’s perspective? Take a look at this post.