What began with Instagram reels about AI models eventually took CVHS junior Spursh halfway around the world. But throughout his remarkable journey he has held on to one simple goal: to create technology that makes the world a better place.

Spursh’s story started well before high school. He was already coding by age nine and his skills continued to flourish as he developed a stronger curiosity about artificial intelligence. As a sixth grader at Wilson Middle School, Spursh’s technology teacher, April Faieta, knew that his technical capabilities would take him far.

“I have been an educator for 30 years and have worked with thousands of students,” said Faieta. “I can say without hesitation that I have never taught another student with Spursh’s capabilities.”

Spursh became particularly focused on the way AI models work better together when they communicate in their numerical language, as opposed to English. This focus led him to a larger question: What information are the models actually sharing through this hidden numerical language, known as the latent communication channel? 

That question, and hours of research, took him further than he ever expected. A paper he co-authored was accepted for presentation at an International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML) workshop in Seoul, South Korea. 

Last July, at just 16  years old, Spursh traveled to Seoul and took the stage in front of Ph.D. students, university researchers, and industry professionals to present his work. 

“At first, it was extremely nerve-wracking, as I was in a room full of 1,000+ industry experts, many with PhDs and graduate degrees, and I had zero formal training aside from reading papers online and watching YouTube videos,” stated Spursh. “The more researchers who talked to me, the more comfortable I felt and the more fun I had!”

As Spursh begins his junior year at Crescenta Valley High School, his goal remains the same: “To build a novel AI-based technology that makes the world a better place.” And he’s most certainly on that path! Spursh runs several nonprofits, including Invest in Potential, which he co-founded with his former Wilson Middle School technology teacher, April Faieta.

“There is something wonderfully strange about sitting beside someone I once taught in sixth grade and realizing that we're now co-founders - and that on the technology side, he's teaching me,” said Faieta.

We couldn’t be more proud to call Spursh a CVHS Falcon, and we can’t wait to see where his curiosity takes him next!