Hey there! I'm Cyrus, also known as hecate946. I'm a third-year student at UCLA, double majoring in Computer Science and Clarinet Performance. Right now, I'm a Software Engineer Intern at Taiki Inc, where I'm working on a project to make tax documents easier to deal with using a universal API. Whether it's coding, solving problems, or playing the clarinet, I'm always up for a challenge and excited to keep learning.
I started coding in my sophomore year of high school, when I began development on a number of functional discord bots. Although I initially started coding to find quick solutions to tedious tasks, I quickly realized that I had a passion for it, and decided to pursue a career in software engineering. My first major project was a Discord bot called Neutra, which ultimately grew to provide data analytics for 500,000+ users. Encouraged by the success of Neutra, I began to explore other areas of software development, such as web development, app creation, as well as other miscellaneous projects.
Ever since I was a child, classical music has been a big part of my life. I've played the piano since I was 6 years old, and seriously considered pursuing a career as a pianist before realizing that the piano's soloistic nature did not align with my desire to collaborate with others. I still play the piano regularly, but after learning clarinet from my then-teacher Robert Zelickman, I decided to pursue a career in clarinet performance. I currently study at UCLA under LA Phil principal clarinetist Boris Allakhverdyan, where half of my time is spent in a basement practice room searching for a good reed.
After becoming fascinated with the appearance of chess pieces at the age of 5, I learned the basics from my father. Several years later, fueled by my obsessive nature, I would play 6+ hour matches, drill tactical puzzles, and read books on chess theory. Although my goal is eventually to play competitively in tournaments, I recognize that I have bigger goals in other fields that take priority. Nevertheless, I play blitz games casually on chess.com, where I've reached a peak rating of 2450. Recently, I've shifted my focus to other games, such as Backgammon, Poker, Guandan, and Sheng-Ji.
Growing up, I played competitive tennis at my local clubs in San Diego. Although tennis was a passion of mine, I decided to quit in my junior year of high school in order to prioritize my academics. About a year ago, after being introduced to Pickleball by my girlfriend's parents, I became obsessed with this social, yet strategic game. I frequent a local park where I find competitive games against ex-pro tennis players who have converted to pickleball, and other equally competitive and like-minded people. I now play Pickleball on the UCLA club team, of which I was a founding member.