Ashlyn Campbell

The RISE Stars Program

Reaching for Inclusion, Striving for Excellence in Computing Stars (RISE Stars) is a targeted initative, intervention, and socio-academic counterspace aimed at broadening participation in the computing. We sought to do so by supporting the social, academic and professional success of freshmen and sophomore Black women in computer science at Georgia State University. I created and led this program for two years alongside Dr. Anu Bourgeois, a full professor in the Department of Computer Science. During my time I created several workshops and events for students to learn advanced programming concepts, take steps to break into the technical industry and bond with like-minded peers. A core component of the program was near-peer mentorship, where upperclass students mentored the Stars to create full stack technical projects and later computing research projects. Many of the students in this program secured internships at top companies like Uber, Duolingo, GoDaddy, and Microsoft. We published the results of this program at ACM SIGCSE 2025 and are actively working on additional publications. Please explore the projects that students created over the years below!

Technical Projects

Since the beginning of the RISE stars program, we challenge students in the Fall semester to create a social impact project. Originally, the goal was to focus on the design of wireframes in Figma. But quickly, we noticed that students wished to make full stack projects instead. So I adapted and found strategies to teach freshmen and sophomore students the basics of frontend and backend development. Amongst these strategies was the support and dedication of upperclass students! Please take a look at that projects below:

✦ Title: Panther Protect Authors: Vanhora Gaspard, Alaya McCall, Martha Mwangi, Chenice Taylor Description: Mentored by Ashlyn Campbell, students created a solution to combat human trafficking. PanthersProtect offers updated news, safety tips, and information about hotspots near Georgia State University. The website includes a hotspot map and testimony chat to raise awareness and empower users. Link: View Presentation

✦ Title: Green Space Urban Authors: Danniecia Gray, Adebayo Jadesola, Domonick Hawkins, Tiya Tulu Description: Mentored by Yulduz Muradova students, students created a platform for students to swap used clothing. Link: View Presentation

✦ Title: Virtual Career Fair Authors: Jamaya Evans, Amy Birkneh, Shalom Obed & Destiny Kalu Description: Mentored by Sarah O’Brien students developed a mobile app game for students to attend career fairs… virtually! Link: View Presentation

✦ Title: Ecobin Explorer Authors: Jania Thomas, Lauriane Houndjahoue Description: Mentored by Toni Toyobo students created a way to empower change with “The Ecobin Explorer,” a webpage promoting environmental impact through small actions. Link: View Project

✦ Title: Rhythm & Reels Authors: Abrielle Jasmin, Chelsa Takuebai, Haji Bah, Sana Sharif Description: Mentored by Sumeya Hussein students excelled at creating a mood-tracking website that helps users discover personalized music and movie recommendations based on emotional inputs! Link: View Presentation

✦ Title: Dear Big Sister Authors: Elizabeth Tulloch, Marissa Moise Description: Mentored by Solanlly Rijo Lake students created a haven for girls with “Dear Big Sister,” a forum-based website where questions find a voice and insightful advice echoes. All responses and questions are securely anonymous, and posts linger until the author decides otherwise. Link: View Presentation

✦ Title: Study Gram
Authors: Abigail Coley, Angel Prempeh, Monique Magbi, Summaya Morris Description: Mentored by Esther Williams students creating a note sharing app for college students. Link: View Presentation

✦ Title: Human Pedia
Authors: Elikia Okwen, Milan Nelson, Carianna Batey Description: Mentored by Bright Odedo students created a website to source and organize opportunities for those in need. Link: View Presenation

✦ Title: RISE Portfolio Project Authors: Khady Gueye, Janiya Green, Wisdom Energy, Jayla Lay Description: Mentored by Tyler Wilkerson, students created a website to showcase their passions, projects, and expertise across their majors. Link: View Presentation

✦ Title: Starr - The Calendar Authors: Leora Menelas, Laila Hunt, Eden-Amari Wilson, Kelis Pean Description: Mentored by Sumeya Hussein & Monet Howson students created a way to streamline your schedule with “Starr,” a calendar/planner app designed for student comfort. Link: View Presentation

✦ Title: Post Health Authors: Raina Bethea, Temiloluwa Alajogun, Taseyana Booker-Hopkins, Aman Odoffin Description: Mentored by Jessica He students created a website to help patients receive guidance and monitoring after surgeries. Link: View Presentation

Research Projects

In the second year of the program, I had the neat idea to introduce students to research in the Spring semester. This idea came from my growing interest in research as well as an understanding of how difficult it can be to break into research as an undergrad. Similar to the technical projects, students were paired with upperclass students to successfully outline their research design. The students seemed to throughly enjoy this opportunity and presented at the Georgia State Undergraduate Research Conference (GSURC). Please take a look at the projects below:

✦ Title: Bridging the Gap: Addressing Racial and Gender Bias in Patient Care through a Community-Based Medical Support Application
Authors: Danniecia Gray, Tiya Tulu, Aman Odoffin, Chelsa Takuebai
Link: View Presentation

✦ Title: Reforming Social Media Algorithms to Promote Mental Health and Critical Thinking Using Ethical AI Data Processing
Authors: Elikia Okwen, Amy Birkneh, Carianna Batey, Abrielle Jasmin
Link: View Presentation

✦ Title: Key Problems in AI Algorithms That Cause Data Breaches
Authors: Jadesola Adebayo, Summaya Morris, Wisdom Energy, Taseyana Booker-Hopkins
Link: View Presentation

✦ Title: Herbivore Hub
Authors: Janiya Green
Link: View Presentation

✦ Title: Life’s Too Short
Authors: Shalom Obed
Link: View Presentation