The Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering would like to welcome new lecturer, Shawn Lupoli, to the department. Mr. Lupoli will be teaching CMSC 201 (Introduction to Computer Science) and CMSC 104 (Problem Solving and Computer Programming) at UMBC this Fall.
Shawn Lupoli’s interest in robotics sparked when he was pursing an undergraduate degree in Computer Science at Frostburg State University. “The hands-on experience ignited my imagination,” says Mr. Lupoli of the robotics course that appealed to his inner-electrician. As a Master’s student at Towson University, Mr. Lupoli used LEGO, Vex Robotics and Fischertechnik robot kits as teaching tools in his Computer Science courses to engage his students with fun, hands-on projects.
“I’ve always wanted to teach,” says Mr. Lupoli, who was influenced by his father, who has been an Industrial Technology teacher at Perryville Middle School for thirty-four years. After receiving his Master’s in Computer Science from Towson University, Lupoli dove into teaching introductory computer science courses. He has over ten years of teaching experience, and has been a Computer Science Instructor at Mount St. Josephs High School in Baltimore, Anne Arundel Community College, Virginia Tech University, and Radford University, among other colleges. Most recently, Mr. Lupoli was an Assistant Professor at the Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC).
“When I was teaching at Virginia Tech and Radford, I fell in love with the University atmosphere,” he says, which is what drew him to the lecturer position at UMBC. “For me professionally, there are more opportunities here than I would ever have at a community college,” he adds. Mr. Lupoli sees teaching at UMBC as a welcome challenge, and hopes to eventually expand his teaching to subjects such as operating systems and data structures.
This Fall, Mr. Lupoli will teach CMSC 201 (Introduction to Computer Science) and CMSC 104 (Problem Solving and Computer Programming). Eager to get the semester started, Mr. Lupoli says one of his goals for the Fall is to get settled in and get used to the nuances of UMBC. But, the success of his students is his ultimate concern, says Mr. Lupoli, who explains that one of his favorite things about teaching is seeing the "I got it" light turn on in a student's head. “I strive to make the students understand,” says Mr. Lupoli, “I strive for student success.”