Student Voices

 Gen AI in Courses and Careers

In this inaugural episode, Dulf and our student guests focus on the use of GenAI in their courses and career aspirations. 

Our guests include Arted Gjata (BSLAS in Integrative Biology) and Foziea Garada (BS in Computer Science). 

Watch for shoutouts to courses that have integrated GenAI projects, from Chem 332 to CS 341 (Teaching Professor Lawrence Angrave) to IE 421(Clinical Professor David Lariviere)

GenAI Tutoring, Teaching and Learning

This episode dives deep into Conversations with students about their use of GenAI in their educational journeys, personal lives, 
and career preparations. 

Daisy Castro (Middle Grade Education / Social Science) shares insights about how GenAI is impacting K12 education.  

Bruktawit Yigzaw (Advertising + Studio Art / Minor Informatics) considers how GenAI is impacting designers and artists. 

Abby Brown (Psychology (Industrial/Organizational) / Minor Leadership Studies) discusses how impactful GenAI might be to her own field of Human Resources.

3A: Teaching and Learning with GenAI in Computer Science and Latin American Studies

In our Student Voices #3 Dulf Vincent Genis explores GenAI use with two graduate teaching assistants at Illinois, Ryan Ziegler (Computer Science) and Eva Lam Redondo (Latin American and Caribbean Studies).  

Video 3.A explores the use of GenAI for research and teaching, with both our guests confident that they can now identify student “work” that is fully AI generated.  Importantly, Ryan shares his concern that courses still offering assignments that are “GPTable” will lead to some students taking a path where they will not “get any value out of that assignment.”

   3B: Social and Global Impacts of GenAI

In CITL's Student Voices #3B: Social and Global Impacts of GenAI Dulf Vincent Genis explores GenAI use with two graduate teaching assistants at Illinois, Ryan Ziegler (Computer Science) and Eva Lam Redondo (Latin American and Caribbean Studies).  In this video, Eva leads a discussion around the democratizing potential of technologies such as GenAI and universal WiFi infrastructure, with hopes for enhancing digital literacy and equity around the world.

3C: Advice for New Students at Illinois

In our Student Voices #3C, Dulf Vincent Genis chats with two graduate teaching assistants at Illinois, Ryan Ziegler (Computer Science) and Eva Lam Redondo (Latin American and Caribbean Studies), who offer tips for success for new undergraduate students. 

Not surprisingly, networking and getting out and exposing oneself to new courses and people are highly rated.  Eva shares a wonderful tip that every student should find a person to “relate to . . . a person you want to be like . . . and a person you can just hang out with.”

Student Voices #4: Gen AI Impacts

Is Gen AI helping students prepare for success? In this episode of Student Voices #4, we dive into a fascinating conversation with three U. of I. students who are putting Gen AI to the test in their studies, research, and careers.  They're using Gen AI in ways you might not expect:  as a study partner, as a teaching assistant, and even as a debate sparring partner. But they're also hitting roadblocks where Gen AI just doesn't quite cut it. 

Meet the Students & Their AI Strategies: 

Ivan Akonya (Engineering + Transportation) doesn't just accept Gen AI’s answers he challenges it to think like a professor.  He is skeptical of its tendency to oversimplify but recognizes that his future transportation career will certainly involve using Gen AI to assist with massive transportation datasets. 

Delancy Xiao (Liberal Arts Science + Communications) uses Gen AI to generate quiz questions and discussion prompts, but when it comes to creativity, especially poetry, she finds Gen AI is not that inspiring. 

Rahsmika Kolleri (Gies College of Business + Tech Management) uses Gen AI to refine her communication skills, break down case studies, and even level up her LinkedIn Learning courses. But when it comes to brainstorming original ideas or doing math, she's keeping GenAI at arm’s-length.  

Bonus tip from our host, Dulf Vincent Genis: Do you want to supercharge your study sessions? Feed Gen AI your study guides and worksheets and watch it generate even more learning materials.

5A: Using AI for Coursework and Careers

When we hear directly from our students it’s clear that many of them maintain a complex relationship with AI, choosing when and when not to utilize it for coursework.  In this episode our student host Dulf Vincent Genis interviews Aseem Patra (Statistics | Minor:  Computer Science) and Ava Marginean (Political Science – International Relations) and highlighting concerns, hesitations and a few positive tips on using AI for their academic work.

5B: AI Helping With Your Day-To-Day Life

In student voices #5, Dulf Genis continues the conversation with Aseem Patra (Statistics | Minor: Computer Science), exploring how AI can help for daily tasks, cooking, and hobbies.  Aseem uses AI assistance for his workout plans, but prefers to find his own recipes, explaining that “This computer didn’t eat nothin’.”  Similarly, Aseem is also a bit old school and prefers to find her own recipes.  The interview concludes with a very human discussion of student workloads and strategies for staying productive and academically successful.

Student's Voices: How do students feel about Gen AI?

Summer of AI 2025

Presented by: Shenika Glover and Dulf Genis
Featured students: Jeremy Samuel and Kristelle Dela Cruz
 
In this student voices panel, we had two graduate students, Jeremy Samuel and Kristelle Dela Cruz, provide their own perspectives on GenAI. Dulf Genis led an informative conversation with about student's GenAI use in their educational journeys, personal lives, and career preparations.