About
Hey there! My name is Neil. Here is a little bit about me (personally):
- I like video games a lot. Some of my favorites include: Minecraft, Stardew Valley, Mario Games, GTFO, and more!
- I enjoy photography a lot as well, including landscape photography, animal photography, and astrophotography! Using a Canon Powershot G7X Mark II and a Sony Alpha 6000 Mirrorless camera, I have photographed the following: Landscapes of Costa Rica and Hawai'i, the milky way galaxy, the stages of a total solar eclipse, animals like hummingbirds and sea turtles, and more!
- I like listening to music and playing music! I have been playing guitar since 2016 and bass guitar since 2018. I was also involved in my high school's Jazz Band for four years, and loved every second of it! I also played baritone/euphonium through middle school, and was involved in Ohio's District X Honor Band in 8th grade. I had the immense pleasure during my time as a euphonium player to take part in debuting two brand-new commissioned pieces! They were Wind of the Waves by Chris M. Bernotas (here) and Band of Heroes by Erika Svanoe (here)!
- I play sports in my free time as well! I play tennis, and have played it for several years, playing it through high school (on the high school team) and continuing in college as well! I also enjoy playing volleyball with my friends, and have recently gotten involved in playing in intramural beach and indoor teams! I plan on joining a summer league at some point as well.
- I am learning German. I have been learning German since 8th grade, and continued through high school, taking AP German. I continue to learn German to this day, pursuing a German minor in college, and I studied abroad in Dresden during the summer of 2024! In the future, I would also like to complete my fluency in Marathi (I can understand completely, but cannot speak or write very well).
- Programming is something I do in my spare time as well. I mainly program in Python, Java, Mathematica, and MATLAB. I also have the PCEP certification in Python and Wolfram U certifications for Mathematica! I am also involved with the AI Club at my university, and have completed multiple AI projects, and have competed in HackAI 2024 and 2025 (with the latter placing on the podium). I also have other programming-adjacent skills like LaTeX and Git.
- I like solving Rubik's cubes in my spare time, specifically speed-solving them. My current personal best for a 3x3 Rubik's cube is 10.266s. I can consistently solve under 20s. I also like puzzle-solving in general, including solving 2x2, 4x4, 5x5, Skewb, Square-1, Pyraminx, and modded Rubik's cubes. Likewise, I also enjoy word games, sudoku, and more.
- Finally, I love reading and have multiple bookshelves full of books (3 and counting!). I read multiple genres, including sci-fi, fantasy, non-fiction, graphic novels, foreign language books, and more. I also enjoy watching YouTube and anime and playing/watching chess (casually)!
Come to the jazz and band concert at 7! @olhsbands pic.twitter.com/KuzuDrMS9a
— Mr. Kim (@MrKimOLHS) December 12, 2019
Jazz Band Concert Practice 2019 (My Sophomore Year). I’m on the left playing bass guitar!
