In today’s highly-competitive job market, it’s important to have career-related experience to stand out among others. Computer Science majors take a variety of courses and participate in many hands-on learning experiences in class. Ashland University's computer sciences courses teach students how to think logically and how to problem-solve, which enable them to be versatile employees. Students are encouraged to complete an internship during their junior or senior year.
Thomas Conti: Automated Testing Environment Engineering Intern, AMD
Senior Computer Science major, Thomas Conti, recently completed an internship at AMD, a company that manufactures computer processors, in Austin, Texas.
As an Automated Testing Environment Engineering Intern, Thomas learned about the fabrication and testing process for microprocessors and had the opportunity to create and enhance programs used in testing different AMD processing products. He was able to easily apply the knowledge and skills he learned in classes such as Programming Languages, Computer Architecture, and Operating Systems to real-world projects.
"This internship was a great learning experience," said Thomas.
After graduation this May, Thomas would like to continue his work in the semi conductor industry or software development.
Jim Huang: Software Development Intern, Quicken Loans
Jim Huang interned at Quicken Loans as a Software Development Intern. Quicken Loans is the 4th largest mortgage lender in the United States and the largest online. In the past several years, it has been ranked as on the of the Top Best 30 Places to Work by Fortune magazine.
Jim's main responsibility was to design and improve the company's back-end loans platform - the basic technology of a computer system's hardware and software that defines how a computer is operated and determines what other kinds of software can be used. Through this position, Jim was able to learn more about the software development process and cycle in a business world environment. Jim enjoyed having the creative freedom to develop software.
"Computer Science courses, specifically, Data Structures and Computer Algorithms helped me tremendously for this internship," said Jim.
Jim plans to graduate this May and has future plans of starting his own tech-related business.
Matthew Smithburger: Interface Development Intern, Rosetta Marketing
Matthew Smithburger, a senior majoring in Computer Science, recently completed an internship with Rosetta Marketing.
As an Interface Development Intern, Matthew used front end web technologies to build interactive web pages and applications for clients. Matthew was also able to sit in on client consultations and experience how meetings function. In this position, Matthew learned the importance of setting goals, maintaining organization, and meeting deadlines.
"It's a fast-paced, challenging, and ever-changing field," said Matthew, "and this experience showed me that this is the type of work I want to do in the future."
He credits his Algorithms and Data Structures classes for helping him succeed in this position. According to Matthew, these classes gave him the knowledge to tackle difficult problems by applying different techniques to come up with efficient solutions.
Matthew will be graduating this May and is planning on returning to Rosetta as a full-time User Interface Development Associate.
Daniel "Kees" Edwards was inducted into Ashland University's Epsilon Chapter of Upsilon Pi Epsilon (UPE), the international honor society for the computing and information disciplines. Daniel is a junior and is double-majoring in Computer Science and Computer Art & Graphics Programming.
Other UPE members are Tom Conti, Jim Huang, Marissa Uhrig, and Kenny Bogner. Marissa has been voted as president-elect for 2013-2014.
