Resume

Profile

Harvard student studying Pure Mathematics and Computer Science with interests in Applied AI, Software Engineering, and Research. Currently conducting research on LLM interpretability and steering vectors at Harvard's Cognitive, Cognition, and Development Lab under Post Doc Peng and Professor Ullman. Experienced entrepreneur and engineer with proven track record of building impactful products and organizations. Co-founded multiple ventures including Libertas Debate Academy (6-figure revenue) and IvyLine (500 users in 5 days). Passionate about using technology to democratize access to education and opportunities.

Education

A.B., Pure Mathematics and Computer Science

2024 to March 2028 at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

Relevant coursework: Introduction to Statistics (110), Proof-based Linear Algebra (22a), Data Structures and Algorithms (120), Reinforcement Learning and Optimal Control (158)

Boston Latin School

Graduated 2024, Boston, MA

Six years on Speech & Debate. NSDA National Student Leadership Council member, representing 50,000+ student members. 3x DECA International Career Development Conference qualifier — a school record.

Experience

Undergraduate Researcher at Harvard Ullman Lab

September 2025 to Present at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

Working with Post Doc Peng on Steering Vectors for LLM safety and interpretability. Using text of the law versus spirit of the law experiments to test LLMs. Use FARSC and SLURM to run evals for frontier models.

Campus Lead at Cursor

September 2025 to Present at Cursor, Cambridge, MA

Selected as one of 40 campus leads across U.S. colleges. Hosted HackMIT x Cursor and Harvard x Cursor events, expanding campus engagement and developer adoption.

Co-Founder at Libertas Debate Academy

September 2023 to Present, Remote

Achieved six-figure revenue in first year of operation. Managed team of 16 USA National Champions; led curriculum for 40 students and summer camp for 25. Led National Coaching, Debate Camps, and Online Classes; students earned Gold TOC bids and won NCFL Nationals. Oversaw SEO optimization, marketing at national debate tournaments, client and coach calls, hiring, and operations.

Founder & Engineer at IvyLine

June 2024 to Present, Remote

Built IvyLine Search, a full-stack web app democratizing college advice; scaled to 500 users in 5 days with 100K LinkedIn impressions. Reduced callback authentication speed by 180%; deployed over 20,000 lines of production code. Developed semantic search for 200+ opportunities using Grok 3, Xenova embeddings, and Vercel; achieved 5-figure revenue (Sept. 2024 – May 2025).

Senior Software Engineer at Harvard Tech for Social Good

February 2024 to Present at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

2024: Built a full-stack RAG app for the CDC NIOSH team to analyze thousands of pages on mining safety. 2025: Co-leading project with Wikimedia (294B yearly views) improving accessibility via JAWS assistive tech.

Co-Founder & Board Member at Outreach Debate

August 2022 to Present, Remote

Founded international 501(c)(3) nonprofit — the world's largest student-run debate organization — growing from 6 to 300+ members across 20+ countries and 50 states. Organized camps serving 1,500+ debaters, saving over $1.5M collectively; raised $4,000+ for initiatives. Partnered with the Coolidge Foundation to host the Coolidge Qualifier, a national tournament awarding a bid to the Coolidge Cup; received publicity from the National Speech and Debate Association.

Massachusetts Lead at Encode Justice

March 2022 to September 2024, Remote

Mobilized state-level AI safety advocacy with ACLU MA and local legislators. Authored policy memo for Senator Warren's team and contributed to memo sent to Senator Schumer.

Awards

Elks Most Valuable Student (Top 2.7%)
Coolidge Scholarship Finalist (Top 0.03%)
NHS Scholarship Recipient (Top 3.5%)
Vanderbilt Chancellor's Scholarship Recipient
Top 6 Public Forum Debater in USA; 9x National Qualifier (2x Gold TOC, 4x NSDA Nationals, 3x NCFL Grand Nationals); 7 career TOC bids
Elimination rounds at national championships in four formats: Public Forum, Congress, World Schools, and Policy
Top Speaker, Milo Cup; 2nd Speaker, Sunvitational; 5th Speaker, Harvard Round Robin

Writing & Press

Contributing writer, International Policy Digest
Bylines in Dig Boston and the L.A. Times High School Insider
Profiled in The Argo: "Spotlight on Sam Chen"

Activities

Harvard Intellectual Vitality Student Advisory Board
Asian American Dance Troupe
Harvard Undergraduate Foreign Policy
Asian American Christian Fellowship

Skills

Python
JavaScript
TypeScript
Rust
React
Next.js
Node.js
TensorFlow
PyTorch
Machine Learning
LLM Research
NLP
Full-Stack Development
Vercel
Git
SLURM
Data Structures
Algorithms