education

1. California State University, San BernardinoSan Bernardino, CA

   Computer Science (B.S. expected December 2026), GPA: 3.85Aug 2024 - Present

2. International Christian University Tokyo, Japan

   One-year exchange program, GPA: 4.0 Sep 2023 - June 2024

3. University of California, Merced Merced, CA

   Computer Science and Engineering, GPA: 3.69Aug 2022 - May 2023

work

1. Undergraduate Research Assistant San Bernardino, CA

   California State University, San Bernardino February 2025 - Present

   • Spearheaded an independent research project designing and executing a novel counterfactual testing framework to evaluate the faithfulness of AI-generated explanations for predictive machine learning models.
   • Authored a 25-page manuscript detailing findings that LLMs exhibit a strong cognitive bias towards plausibility over faithfulness, highlighting critical challenges for developing trustworthy, human-centered AI systems.
   • Contributed to the lab's broader research goals by synthesizing insights from 40+ academic papers to identify new research directions and by co-presenting team findings on a RAG-based chatbot at a university symposium.

2. Undergraduate Research Assistant Tokyo, Japan

   International Christian University May 2024 - June 2024

   • Conducted a comparative performance analysis of leading LLMs to generate key insights for social psychology research, directly supporting the development of presentations for the Asian Association of Social Psychology (AASP) conference.
   • Authored accessible technical documentation on complex AI concepts (e.g., transformers) to bridge the knowledge gap between computer science and psychology, directly enabling interdisciplinary research on human-AI trust dynamics.

research

• Colegado, S., Jin, J., Hou, Y. (2025). "Faithful or Plausible? A Counterfactual Analysis of LLM-Generated Explanations for Machine Learning Models" (Submitted to IEEE ICSC 2026).

academic presentations

• Smith, A., Hasegawa, O., Sano, C., Xu, Z., & Colegado, S. (2024, June 21). Ethical Boundaries and Evil Jun 2024 Aspects of AI: Insights from Research on AI Dependency in Japan. Talk presented online via Curtin University at the Generative AI Workshop of the Asian Association of Social Psychology (AASP).

projects

1. Mogi - Agent-Based Simulation FrameworkJan 2025

   Designed and implemented a TypeScript framework for simulating AI agent interactions, enabling the rapid prototyping of multi-agent AI systems that can evaluate the ability of LLMs to exercise judgement and adhere to assigned personas in a constructed environment.

2. jiBash - Language Learning Web AppDec 2024

   Developed an AI-driven web application enabling users to have realistic conversational scenarios in different languages to assist with language acquisition. Applied human-centered design principles to create a personalized, engaging learning experience aimed at reducing educational inequalities in language learning.