On Friday, April 26th, 29 computer science alumni served as judges for the senior capstone projects of current students at the Engineering Projects Expo. Each judge spent half an hour with three different groups, providing valuable insights as professionals into the students’ presentations, demos, and code architecture.
Ryan Dowell, a graduate from the class of 2011 who works at industrial textile machine company Melco, was impressed by the scale and variety of projects created by the students in collaboration with their capstone clients. Reflecting on his own capstone experience, Dowell emphasized the importance of understanding the transition from academic projects to commercial-focused work. He urged others to take note of this when embarking on their own career paths in computer science.
Erika Bailon, a recent graduate from the class of 2020 who now works at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, felt nostalgic attending the event. She expressed delight in seeing the evolution of projects and the students’ collaborative efforts. Bailon also highlighted the significance of female representation in computer science and hoped to inspire others by being a judge at the expo. She encouraged others to pursue careers in STEM fields and to never give up on their dreams.
Derek Rieger, a graduate from the class of 1999 who works at Accelerate Learning, found judging the capstone projects enjoyable on multiple levels. He was inspired by
