Beck Lorsch
Student | Software Developer
Student | Software Developer
I am passionate software developer and rising junior at Yale College from San Francisco joint majoring in computer science and economics. I have completed projects independently, with partners, and for clients. I started programming in Swift in 2015 shortly after it's release and have worked with iOS for a decade.
In working on my projects—which have been downloaded in more than 70 countries—I have grown familiar with Apple and third party technologies including Git, CocoaPods, ResearchKit, CoreData, Realm, RESTful APIs, CocoaPods, GraphQL, AWS (Cognito, AppSync, etc.), tvOS, Firebase, Twilio, in-app purchases (especially subscriptions), the Spotify SDK, and Auth0.
I have additionally expanded my skill set to include JavaScript/Vue/Node.js, Python/Flask, Java/Android, and DevOps tools like Docker and Kubernetes. When I'm not coding or in school, I am a skipper on Yale's Varsity Sailing team (2022 National Champions), take photos (film and digital), surf, and read (often on economic history).
One of my very first Swift projects. I created a simple weather app powered by the Forecast.io API.
I originally created Headline TV as a part of my 2016 app of the month project. The tvOS app allows a user to have a slide show of news headlines from a variety of sources (New York Times, United Press International Headlines, TechCrunch, CNN) accompanied by stunning images in the background.
My first major Swift project. I created a fully working tool for tracking neurological tics and their severity using ResearchKit.
Since 2018, I have been responsible for the ideation, design, and development of the "Marin Academy Daily" iOS and Android apps as well as the backend supporting them. I implemented functionality to make student resources easier to access and increase both school spirit and participation in school events through a highly customizable interface, and custom, server-based notifications. Since I took over the iOS app and built the backend and Android app, usage among students and faculty has increased from 15% to more than 80%.
In my junior year of high school, I was chosen to give a presentation at Marin Academy's Math Night. In it, I describe to
a general audience what neural networks are and how they work, then explain how they can
generate text. I end my presentation by
showing how a computer was able to write a "senior speech," a ~5 minute speech that every MA
student must give at some point throughout their senior year. It can be comedic or serious
and is a time to reflect on one's experiences throughout
high school. They almost always end with acknowledgements to those instrumental to their
last four years, followed by a few shoutouts.
Presentation description: "How do our phone keyboards know what word we will type
next? How can a computer write a chapter of Harry Potter, an episode of The
Office, or a Donald Trump tweet? In this presentation, we will dive into the field of
Natural Language Processing and examine the cutting edge of text generation culminating in
generating something of our own."
Joey used cutting-edge optimization algorithms to increase student efficiency. Given a set
of assignments and a student's activities, our proprietary algorithm found the most
efficient way for them to complete their work and rendered it in an intuitive weekly
schedule.
I worked on Joey with two partners from 2019-2021. I was primarily responsible for integrating our AWS backend with the iOS interface as well as implementing App Store Subscriptions. Additionally, I edited our promotional videos and managed our finances among other duties.
auxen allowed users to host a communal queue that their friends can then join and add songs to play next. At the time, it was my most technologically ambitious and time-consuming personal project. It used both the iOS Spotify streaming SDK and Spotify API with an OAuth sign in for music playback. For the backend, auxen relied on Firebase for its database, push and silent notifications, analytics, and deep link capabilities.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, I worked on MarinTrace, a low-cost, not-for-profit contact tracing and daily health assessment (DHA) platform for schools. I was responsible for the iOS app (native Swift), the web app (a cross-platform PWA), the frontend of the admin dashboard (Python/Flask), and the authentication system (OAuth w/ Google SSO).
The iOS and web apps allowed members of the community to attest to their lack of symptoms before stepping on campus, optionally report their contacts to more easily facilitate tracing, and report test COVID-19 test results. Certain administrators at the schools could see and act on that data through the admin dashboard. Additionally, I was the project's compliance liaison, setting up "The MarinTrace Foundation" in addition to communicating with and obtaining necessary approvals from local government agencies.
In January 2021, my partner and I fully rolled out MarinTrace at The Branson School as their primary COVID-19 contact tracing and DHA solution. My partner and I later expanded to Headlands Preparatory School, both of Tilden Preparatory School's East Bay campuses, and Branson's own summer program as well as Next Generation Scholars's. MarinTrace was sunset as the pandemic faded.
