Zehavi Rodriguez

Academic Interests

Computational Linguistics

Fun Fact

I grew up on a farm and can herd cattle.

I practiced cello six hours a day for most of my life and I entered Juilliard when I was 11. I was in a car accident when I was 14 and I lost part of my hearing permanently. I spent two years recovering from the accident. I couldn't read or write or play the cello and I felt completely lost knowing my future as a cellist was over. I ended up studying Spanish because we found a teacher willing to teach me without a textbook. I was surprised to discover that I could learn Spanish like I learned music - instinctively, through anticipation of sound.

I fell in love with language learning, as I had now found something new to be excited about other than cello. I became fluent in Spanish in a year, and I wrote a paper about alternative ways to teach second languages to kids with learning differences. Also, I conducted research at Harvard on the different ways that autistic kids learn language from their mothers. My curiosity about languages led me to join a team training LLMs on Spanish dialects. I realized that the same way second-languges can be a bridge or a barrier to kids with underrepresented learning styles, AI can be a bridge or a barrier to people who speak underrepresented languages. 

Today I speak four languages - English, Hebrew, Spanish and Russian. At Duke I want to investigate the intersection of computer science and language to understand where AI expands linguistics and where AI puts language at risk. I've made it past some pretty big obstacles in my life, and I did that because I had such a strong support system around me. I had outstanding music teachers and after that I had dedicated occupational and physical therapists. I'm excited to be part of SPIRE because I'll have access to another set of mentors and guides who can help me make sure I succeed at Duke. 

What do you like about being a SPIRE Fellow?

Being part of a community of students that all support each other.