As I embarked on my Master's program in Q4 2022, I adopted a personal mantra: "hit the ground running when you can." I was determined to make the most of this opportunity, and that's when I stumbled upon the eBay ML Challenge.

With my background in AI/ML competitions on Kaggle, where I've achieved Expert Tier status (www.kaggle.com/spsanps), I felt confident in my abilities to tackle this challenge. After discussing potential ideas with my professors and conducting my own research, I concluded that Deberta was the optimal model for this task.

One crucial technique that proved instrumental in my success was K-folding. This approach has consistently delivered impressive results in ML challenges, and it ultimately propelled me to the top of the leaderboard.

Winning the eBay ML Challenge by the end of the year was a remarkable achievement, especially considering my non-software background. The current job market was highly competitive, and even experienced professionals were struggling to secure opportunities. This win not only boosted my confidence but also led to an internship at eBay, which was a huge relief.

During this period, I was taking three courses with exceptional professors. Taylor Berg-Kirkpatrick provided invaluable NLP advice and introduced me to S4 (now used in Mamba models), which helped me with long-form content. Julian Mcauley taught me about recommendation systems, and I later had the opportunity to work with him in his lab. Ben Ochoa led an amazing computer vision course, from which I gained significant insights and advice on pursuing a career in CV (although I initially thought I had an interest in it, I later abandoned it for NLP).

I decided to add a friend to my team for the eBay competition, despite their minimal contribution. Unfortunately, they later took credit for a significant portion of my work. While this experience was disappointing, I have no regrets. It taught me a valuable lesson about trust and the importance of setting clear boundaries early on. As Anais Nin once said, "We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another, unevenly. We grow partially. We are relative." This experience was a poignant reminder of the importance of personal growth and self-awareness.

We do not grow absolutely, chronologically. We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another, unevenly. We grow partially. We are relative.

Anais Nin