Students in the Spotlight

"Since 2018, I have been a Senior Software Engineer at STACK Construction Technologies. STACK, a local Cincinnati based startup, helps construction companies bid and win more profitable work.

"I was a member of the College of Informatics Ambassadors, worked for the Center for Applied Informatics, interned at a startup called Blue Seat Media, and chaperoned for the Cincinnati Tech Olympics."

"My absolute favorite memory while at NKU would be meeting my wife, who also majored in Computer Science and worked with me in the Center for Applied Informatics. My other favorite memory was attending college fairs to talk to potential new students about the College of Informatics. I built my communication skills, eased students' concerns about college, and assisted them in picking a program they found interesting. Since I graduated from NKU, I have enjoyed visiting campus to represent my employer at career fairs and helping transition from college life to their careers."

The best advice I can give is to talk to your professors. It took me a long time to get comfortable with this, but eventually I realized that they want you to succeed and will help you in any way that they can."

"After my high school graduation, I knew NKU was the right institution for my next educational journey. I chose NKU because it goes beyond professors' caring. At the Norse family, everyone cares. As a student here I have had countless mentors to be quite honest. Our faculty and staff do everything they can to see us succeed and provide us with exactly what we need to do our best, inside the classroom and outside of it."

"My best memory from my time at NKU was meeting new people and making great friends. I definitely enjoyed and continue to enjoy every bit of my time on campus and the long-lasting friendships I have built."

"I have had the opportunity to be involved in various activities at NKU and have taken on leadership roles on campus. Served as the President of National Society of Black Engineers of NKU; Student Ambassador for the College of Informatics and Student Support Services (SSS TRIO) and Junior Advisor for Alpha Lambda Honor Society. Also, during my time at NKU, I have had the opportunity to be a Research Assistant as well as a Teaching Assistant in the Department of Computer Science where I was able to explore various projects and put my skills and knowledge into practice."

"As I prospective NKU student, I would encourage you to get to know your professors outside of class. Because a mentor makes all the difference. Most freshman classes are in large lecture halls; it’s easy to feel lost and unmotivated. Also register for classes that will challenge you, and never be afraid to ask questions. Moreover, get involved in organizations around campus because oftentimes these are the most rewarding experiences."

"Currently, I’m working for GE Aviation as a DTLP (Digital Technology Leadership Program). This role offers those with a passion in technology to grow their leadership, business acumen, and technical skills. Hence, I will be working with different business functions in Software Engineering, Cloud & Cybersecurity and Product development."

"Go Norse!"

"In short – I chose to attend NKU because of the trifecta of great programs, great location, and affordability. Towards the end of high school when I started seriously looking at colleges, I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of options. To try to simply things a little, I set up a series of tours with local Universities to try to better understand their programs, get a feel for campus, and see what might be the best fit. Even from these early on tours, NKU stood out to me as a college that had an amazing value proposition and really valued individual students. My very first tour at NKU, I got to see campus, and even got to speak with professors from a few programs before I was even enrolled! This had a huge impact on me, and it meant a lot that professors would be willing to speak to me before I was even officially a student. Whereas other Universities occasionally felt cold and impersonal, like I was one of a million students, NKU made me feel like I was valued. On top of this – buildings like Griffin Hall (home of the College of Informatics) were stunning, and I’d be lying to say it didn’t feel cool to think about working in such a state-of-the-art building. As we got to talking more, I really started to see the value that NKU brought to the table. First was the quality of programs. I was interested in the intersection of Statistics and Computer Science, and it blew my mind to hear that NKU had a specialized program just for this. At the time, NKU was one of a few schools to offer an undergrad degree in Data Science, which was exactly what I was looking for! NKU, and the College of Informatics in general, focuses on having interesting, high impact programs that fit exactly the needs of businesses in the area, so it was exciting to hear NKU had a program that would prepare me so well for what I wanted to do. The next thing that hit me was affordability. NKU offers great scholarships and has a really competitive tuition rate. In a world where college is more expensive than ever, it felt to me like NKU understood the situation and did everything it could to help students afford college. If you click around the NKU website you’ll see a lot about accessibility and meeting the needs of the region, and I can personally attest that NKU keeps the student front of mind. Lastly was location. I am a Cincinnati native and grew up right in Anderson Township. While I loved the idea of living on campus no matter where I went, I also loved the idea of being relatively close to home, especially since I wanted to work in Cincinnati after college as well. Going to NKU meant I could still live on campus, make friends, and engage in the on-campus community, but also drive home when I wanted and steal a free meal from my parents back in Anderson! Even better, going to NKU meant I could interview and intern with businesses in the region, which is how I ended up working for 84.51 in downtown Cincinnati. Overall – NKU felt like the perfect package for me. A great program at a great price in a great region, with faculty and staff that cared about my success. I started to recognize that during those early tours and trips to campus, and looking back now I can see it even clearer that NKU truly has their student’s best interests at heart."

"It’s hard to choose a single moment to sum up NKU for me, but I can certainly try! Of course I loved the classes, all of the research opportunities I had, and how NKU prepared me to enter the workforce, but often my fondest memories are the little things that happen in between that show the community that NKU has and how much the staff and faculty care. For example, my senior year, I helped to lead the College of Informatics Ambassadors. We had a weekly meeting for all of our members, and beforehand we would mull around and make small talk before the meeting began. I started to get into the habit of showcasing my (awful) artistic skills by using Microsoft Paint to try to draw a part of campus every week. One week, I decided to draw the Dean of the College of Informatics, Dean Kirby, which got some laughs from the other students and our faculty mentors. Somehow, this drawing made its way to Dean Kirby’s desk, and at the end of my last semester I was given a magnet with my drawing on that I still hold onto this day, and it still displays prominently at my desk at 84.51! This is really to show the strength of the communities at NKU. Every part of campus I got to interact with at NKU turned into another home for me. Some days it was the College of Informatics, others it was the Math/Stats department or the Honors College, but each had wonderful faculty and staff who weren’t just there to tick checkboxes, but to interact with students and enrich their college experiences. For every story like the one above I have a dozen more where NKU faculty and staff went above and beyond to make an impact with me, and I think back fondly on all of them!""

"Experiential learning and getting involved on campus were what really made NKU for me. NKU is special because of the wealth of opportunities it has for students to get involved and grow while also getting a degree! In terms of experiential learning, I did several research projects and internships while at NKU. The summer after my very first year at NKU, I had the opportunity to do a UR-STEM project, which was an 8-week paid research opportunity to work with Mathematics and Statistics faculty and was the first chance I had to work with R, an extremely popular programming language for data science. By the end of this project, I had valuable programming skills that set me apart when I went to interview for internships, and had a research poster I was able to present at several places during my sophomore year. My sophomore year, I was lucky enough to participate in a research-based class again within Mathematics and Statistics, where we, in small groups, partnered with organizations in the Cincinnati area to do work for them and gain further hands-on experience. My group partnered with Children’s Hospital, where we helped to determine the risk factors that would lead to Acute Kidney Injury in children developing into chronic kidney disease, which is often fatal. This further solidified my programming knowledge, was a fascinating project, and taught me amazing soft skills that would aid me in my career. My senior year, I completed my Honors Capstone working with the Dean of the College of Informatics, Kevin Kirby. This was a yearlong project that felt like the culmination of my degree, where we did exciting and challenging research in the field of deep learning. Not only was the project interesting, and I learned many technical skills along the way, the idea that I could even do research with a college Dean is such a unique element of NKU that sets it apart. Our faculty are so available and willing to work with students, which opened the door for the research opportunities I listed above and several others. NKU really helped to prepare me as well to do internships, which were the most impactful to my career at the end of the day. Thanks to the awesome research I was able to do, I found myself being competitive when it came to interview for internships, and I was able to land an internship at my dream company, 84.51 (the data people for Kroger), in my sophomore year. This meant I was able to spend two summers working with 84.51, learning even more technical skills along the way, and which pipelined into me now working for 84.51 today as a Data Scientist! In terms of getting involved on campus, there are so many wonderful options, whether you’re looking for leadership-type organizations or just something fun to do. I participated in a great deal of organizations, including Presidential Ambassadors (the campus tour guides), College of Informatics Ambassadors, STEM Ambassadors, and the Honors Student Association. These organizations really helped me to develop leadership skills and presentation skills, which really set me apart when it came time to interview for jobs. In addition, they built up communities on campus that made NKU feel like home, as I had made friends along the way. There’s also a lot of work opportunities on campus that can make it so you’re able to spend some more time on campus and get valuable experience while paying for college along the way. While I was at NKU, I worked a few jobs including being a student worker for the Vice Provost, being a TA for a Statistics class and a Computer Science class, tutoring in our Calculus lab, and doing paid research with faculty in the back part of my degree. The great part about everything I listed there is that all of these provided really amazing development for me that helped make me a stronger candidate for jobs, but also were paid and made the financials of college easier to navigate! To conclude, there really are an incredible diversity of things to be involved with at NKU, and these experiences are what made my college experience special. NKU offers great coursework, but all the stories I think back fondly involve the things that happened outside of the classroom. All this stems again from how involved and dedicated our faculty are, where often an email to a professor just asking, “hey, do you have any research opportunities?” could turn into a fulfilling multi-semester research project. I truly believe NKU has a stronger dedication to experiential learning and on-campus activities than any other college, and it’s my favorite thing about the University."

My advice for future students is always just to be present, whether that’s in coursework or just spending time on campus! All the best opportunities for me happened I made connections with other students and faculty and heard through the grapevine about what was happening on campus! Whether it was a leadership organization recruitment event, a faculty needing students to help with research, or even something fun like a pizza dinner at Griffin Hall, just spending time on campus and connecting with others allowed me to immerse myself at NKU and find some amazing opportunities. At the same time, I know many NKU students work part or full time or have family obligations that keep them from campus, and I think my message there would be to make the most of the time you do have and seek opportunities that allow you to spend more time on campus when possible. There are a wealth of opportunities for student work on campus that can also further your academic pursuits, between being a TA, doing paid research, etc. and these opportunities also allow you to spend more time on campus, which is a huge win-win!"

"I am a Data Scientist working for 84.51 in downtown Cincinnati! We are the data folks for Kroger, helping Kroger to make data-driven decisions to help steer their business. Specifically, I work in pricing, which is a really interesting space to work on in the current economic environment. More or less, my job involves a lot of programming, and a lot of thinking of the best ways to help communicate the complex analyses we do at 84.51. While most people think that coming up with cool Machine Learning or AI algorithms is the hard part of a job, I think the challenging part is getting all stakeholders aligned on the requirements, constraints, etc of the analysis you are doing. Thus, an equal amount of my job is thinking about data visualization and data communication and how we can best present things in a way that makes sense to everyone!"

"NKU is a phenomenal school, and I enjoyed it enough that I will be returning in the Fall to pursue a Master’s in Integrative Studies at NKU! My Masters will be combining Computer Science and Communication, which are both College of Informatics programs, and I can’t wait to come back."

"My name is Jacob Koch, I am a cloud, edge computing, and virtualization specialist. I graduated in 2022 from the College of Informatics at NKU with my MSCIT degree after switching in 2018 from history and German in my undergrad. I am currently a student in UC's PhD in IT program and expect to graduate in 2026. I am a research assistant in the Smart Synergies lab in the Digital Futures Building, our research focuses on IoT systems and smart home research.

My dissertation research centers on cloud, virtual systems, and IoT in smart homes. Recently research that I presented on with a lab mate won an award at the Spring Research Conference co-hosted by UC, UK, and UofL. In January, I was part of a student-led team of researchers that received a $100K award from the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT). This grant was to develop a cloud system which will help ODOT identify bridges that are used by bats throughout Ohio. The justification is that ODOT benefits from identifying which bridges are used as important roosts for bats early in any planning process.

My goal post graduation is to be a tenure track faculty member that continues research in cloud computing in partnership with industry and agencies."

"I have recently accepted a position with Bon Secours Mercy Health (BSMH) as a Sourcing Analyst primarily focusing on the supply chain, finance, and analytics space. The term "sourcing" represents the process of purchasing medical supplies from vendors while jumping through the many hoops of determining the most efficient price, quantity, delivery process, business relationship, contract term, etc. With this, I provide a variety of analytical reports that require touches of data science, business intelligence, and data analytics within Excel to help make decisions on those vendors. Another way to describe my position is an analytical Jack of All Trades because the medical industry is always evolving, thus consistently producing new technological challenges. Those medical supplies from vendors will then eventually be delivered to our various hospitals and facilities for faculty to provide care for our patients!"

"This is such a tough question, although my favorite memory, or memories, were meeting with the incoming Freshman class during summer orientation as an Ambassador. I was able to help the Class of 2021, 2022, and 2023 and it was always a pretty cool moment seeing the next generation of students gearing up for their next four years as well as reflecting on my first time stepping into the College of Informatics. I really enjoyed listening to the interests of each student and being able to provide my tidbits of advice as an upperclassman. Hopefully, something stuck with someone although, regardless, I knew that those students would be able to achieve great things while at NKU."

"My involvement in college ran the gamut, ranging from the College of Informatics Ambassadors, the Business Informatics Department Search Committee, the GriffinFest competitions, the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, the Center for Applied Informatics (Informatics+), hackathons at the University of Kentucky and Saint Louis University, volunteer work with local K-12 schools, and other miscellaneous things around. The most significant takeaway looking back on my past four years was the amazing environment the College of Informatics created to foster the ideas and passions of others. I felt that there were many opportunities to get involved not only with the college but with a group of students and staff that possessed the same excitement as myself. In conjunction with this, I believe experiential learning creates a much more engaging and realistic approach to learning material, whether that was through my extracurricular activities or my coursework. Getting hands-on classroom experience smoothly translates to industry experience in addition to creating an environment where students can become confident in their actions."

"Do not let fear hold you back. College naturally brings some of the most intense and stressful moments for students and it is important to face them head-on and accomplish them rather than pushing them aside. Some of my most impactful moments throughout my undergraduate were also some of my most intimidating moments, however, I knew that they were obstacles that would really help my future self—they were the catalyst that provides the life I am able to live today! While it is easy to get caught up in the present moment with the mountain of assignments, projects, and exams, remember that there are a small handful of one-time-only opportunities at school that may just influence the next five to ten years of your life. As Elon Musk once said, “I could either watch it happen or be a part of it.” You got this, friend!"

"I was just hired at GE Aviation in their Digital Technology Leadership Program after I interned with them this past summer.  I start next month."

"I was in Pi Kappa Alpha, held various positions with PIKE."

"Playing intermural Flag Football, all my fun times in the fraternity, and every NKU Homecoming Tailgate."

"Don’t just get involved in organizations.  Lead in organizations."

"I plan to work at my local library while attending graduate school."

"My senior capstone experience working with Dr. Mary Chesnut and Dr. Jennifer Smith of Steely Library."

"Always do your best work. Don’t be afraid to ask questions or to ask for help. Be open to new opportunities and most of all, be willing to step outside of your comfort zone."

“As [a COI student] ambassador, I was able to volunteer to help faculty explain everything about the college and its programs. This was a great opportunity to get to know faculty that I hadn't met yet and to be able to talk/give advice to the incoming freshman from a current student's perspective.”

"I currently work at Great American Insurance Company as an Associate Business Analyst in the Product, Data, Compliance Department (PDC).

I am part of a team in PDC that is working with other teams to develop a new policy entry system for our Business Units in order to retire our old system. I work closely with IT in analyzing policies and data that flow through our systems to ensure there are no issues/defects that need to be addressed. My team acts as system support for rules and data compliance as we work through our phases of the project: Development, User Acceptance Testing, and into Production."

"I loved every minute of my time at NKU, so I am sure I could name quite a few. One great memory at NKU would be Homecoming week every year. I feel like this was a good chance to go enjoy all the fun events NKU would put on for their students. A few of my favorite Homecoming events to attend with my friends would've been the student Talent Show, the Hypnotist, the Step Show, and the Homecoming basketball game. Another favorite NKU memory was being a part of the COI Ambassadors. I barely knew anyone with my major going into college, and being part of this group gave me so many friendly faces as we passed one another in Griffin Hall. This program allowed me to experience new things and gain new personal and career opportunities. One of my favorite events put on by the COI Ambassador Program was when incoming students came to tour Griffin Hall and The College of Informatics for Freshman Orientation. As an ambassador, I was able to volunteer to help faculty explain everything about the college and its programs. This was a great opportunity to get to know faculty that I hadn't met yet and to be able to talk/give advice to the incoming freshman from a current student's perspective. Events like these are what helped me to become a confident leader, which has definitely transitioned over into my working position today."

"I was involved in College of Informatics Ambassador Program and Kappa Delta Sorority. In my Junior year at NKU, I started an internship at Great American as a Auto Insurance User Acceptance Tester. This was a great learning experience, as it helped me transition into my full time role at Great American."

"Personally, I found that college was all about balance. I learned to balance a social life and an academic career. I definitely think it is important to meet new people, try new things/go to events you normally would not, and to join groups and programs. Have fun along your college journey, but also remember your future career is what you are working towards over these few years. Always be looking to network when possible. Start early with reaching out to professors and faculty for guidance on internships or any opportunity that will push you to excel academically. Don't be afraid to ask questions or for advice, because everyone at NKU wants to see you succeed."

"After graduation I will begin working as a software developer for Invar Systems, a company in Northern Kentucky that develops warehouse automation software."

"During my time at NKU I worked as a teaching assistant for the Introduction to Programming course where I helped students learn foundational concepts for Computer Science. I also helped in reforming the Women in Informatics club which sought to provide a space for women in IT related fields to connect and help each other. Outside of NKU, I worked as a programmer/analyst intern at Western & Southern Financial Group which gave me my first exposure to applying programming concepts to solve real-world problems."

"I had the opportunity to attend two Tri-State Women in Computing (TriWiC) conferences, one smaller conference held at Owensboro Community & Technical College and a larger conference held at Eastern Kentucky University. Both of those conferences were amazing experiences where I was able to connect and network with other people in my field and also spend time getting to know fellow NKU students."

"My main advice to students is something that has really helped me out a lot over the last four years. And that is to remember that other people aren’t worried about you as much as you think they are. It can sometimes feel like you have a spotlight on you and everyone is watching and taking note of what you do, but the reality is that everyone is just worried about themselves and is probably not paying attention. As a secondary piece of advice, I would highly recommend engaging with your professors. They can and want to provide opportunities for you to learn, grow, and succeed. Those connections you make will be incredibly valuable."

"I was Vice President of Software Solutions for The Kroger Co. reporting to the CIO.  Our teams were responsible for developing and implementing the various software applications that supported our lines of business including supply chain, e-commerce, store operations, pharmacy, finance, merchandising,  human resources and data analytics."

"I have served two separate terms on the NKU COI Dean's Advisory Board.  During my Kroger career I was a huge advocate for NKU and we hired many NKU intern and co-op students.   We also established the Kroger Innovation Lab on the 4th floor of Griffin Hall to help NKU students find rewarding career paths within Information Technology.  I have been involved with several charities over the years but the most rewarding was being part of the Big Brother / Big Sister program for 12 years."

"I met my wife Kathy at NKU in 1984.  She was a Chemistry major.  We met in the Mathematics Lab in what used to be the Natural Science Center. (I think it is called Founders Hall now.)  We have been happily married since 1986."

"Never stop learning.  Technology is constantly evolving.  Have several trusted sources (peer groups, blogs, user conferences, advisors, etc.) to help you understand where your industry is heading and how technology will define it."

"My interest in Computer Science began when I took my first programming course in high school. At the time, I did not know the different career paths that it could lead to. Since coming to college, I have realized the versatility of this major and how you can apply it to any field of study, career path or even just creating solutions to personal problems."

"Throughout these past four years, I have been fortunate enough to participate in a wide variety of activities such as research assistantship, teaching assistantship, STEM ambassador, Cyber Defense team, ACM team, and internships.
I have had two internships, one as a Jr. Java Developer at Promevo LLC and the second as a Software Engineering Intern at Great American Insurance Group. I was given a wide range of tasks from debugging codes in existing features to developing and testing new features. Both internships allowed me to apply the theories I had learned in the classroom to the real world. In addition, it gave me the opportunity to get one-on-one advice from senior professionals in my field.
By participating in the NKU Cyber Defense team and the ACM team, I have improved my critical thinking, problem solving and time management skills as I got to compete in different competitions. Being part of these teams also helped me make new friends that had similar interests to mine and allowed me to create a sense of community at NKU."

"I would recommend students to get hands-on experience in their related fields. This can be through research, internships, hackathons, open source projects or personal projects. I would say internships were the most valuable for me because it allowed me to work in the industry and gave me an insight on how life would be like after graduation. I would also encourage students to join on-campus organizations so that they can meet other students in their field. Lastly, I strongly advise that students should never be afraid to show their achievements whether at school or at work. People cannot recognize your work and reward you for it if you do not show your accomplishments. So, make sure to get to know your professors outside of the classroom and utilize resources such as LinkedIn to highlight your experiences and accomplishments."

"My plan after graduation is to join Google in their Software Engineering Residency program in Mountain View, California!"

"I am working at Huntington Bank as a Cloud Engineer."

"I was a campus tour guide, a tutor, a teaching assistant, a member of the Honors Student Association, a founding editor of the Honors College Magazine, and a member of Alpha Omicron Pi sorority where I held the positions of Historian, Vice President, and Chapter President."

"My freshman year I lived in the Honors College dorm. When the residents in my hall moved out we got to leave our handprints in paint on the dorm’s wall, and it was so much fun decorating our handprints."

"Get out of your comfort zone, and try new things. You never know what activities you will enjoy or what new friends you could make!"

"I’m currently a Senior Software Developer consultant at Callibrity. I’ve been with the company for 4 years in May. During that time, I have had the opportunity to work with 3 major clients on long term projects. My most recent project was working with Kroger in their Health & Wellness space on the covid vaccine scheduling form as well as managing prescriptions online, and scheduling antibody tests."

"While attending NKU, I took part in a variety of activities within and outside of the College of Informatics. I was a member of Women In Informatics serving as president my senior year. I also had the opportunity to participate in the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU). This research experience at the College of Staten Island allowed me to experiment with cryptology in the form of MD5 and SHA-1 hash functions.  During my senior year, I created a tutor system using artificial intelligence as my Honors Capstone project with Dr. Fox. Throughout college, I worked at the Center For Applied informatics (now Informatics+), campus rec center, math center and calculus lab. In 2015, I was an intern for a startup company called Strap that analyzed health data generated from wearable technology. My last semester of college I interned at TutorGen, which specialized in creating adaptive learning systems. Last but not least, I was a part of Delta Gamma where I oversaw the chapter finances my senior year."

"Originally, I started out as a Mathematics major, knowing little to nothing about coding or anything related to Computer Science. I was put in INF120 Intro to Programming my freshman year to fill up some of my credit hours. I absolutely loved the class! I distinctly remember Dr. Campan handing back a quiz from the week before saying “Girls rule”.That’s when I knew I wanted to start pursuing my Computer Science degree. My other favorite memory was attending the Grace Hopper Conference in Phoenix, Arizona. I went with several other women in tech from NKU and loved getting to know them!"

"My best advice is to get to know your professors and fellow classmates. Without the relationships that I formed, I wouldn’t have known about most of the awesome opportunities I had. Also, always be willing to try new things. I strongly believe personal and professional growth only happens when you step outside of your comfort zone."

"I like that my major allows me to be an engineer, a builder, of data. I’ve always loved computers and had a subscription to PC World when I was young. That should’ve been a clue for my future career path, however this program will be my second undergraduate degree.

I love figuring out how things work. To get to build something, tinker around with it, and problem solve is fun for me. My Mom loves to tell stories about how when I was younger, she’d come home from work and need to figure out what I’d taken apart and put back together. I may or may not have ended up with an extra piece left over at times, but I  always fixed everything eventually!"

"This summer I accepted a position working with the NKU Ecological Stewardship Institute. As an ESI Scholar, I’ve been able to do independent research on the environmental impact of wireless networks, as well as how tech and green infrastructure can be merged to advance the quality of life in our communities, which has been fascinating.

Our long-term ESI group project is Strategic Depaving, which is the replacing of impervious surfaces with public greenspace. We’ve worked with community members in the directly-impacted area of Westside in Newport, KY, the Westside Citizens Coalition, and the city to get feedback on what they’d like to see in the proposed greenspace.

I’ve previously worked in community organizing and social justice campaigns, so being able to do research like this is a wonderful way to link my interests with our local communities through a technology centered lens."

"I cannot stress enough the importance of utilizing campus tutoring, working with your class TA, and going to your professor’s office hours. It’s completely free, one-on-one learning. You’ll have a better understanding of class concepts because everyone learns differently. One explanation may make more sense than another.

Also, be kind to yourself. While this major might come naturally to some, don’t think you’re incapable of learning it if it doesn’t for you. CIT has challenged me in ways I didn’t think were possible. It’s complicated and difficult because, at times, it’s genuinely complicated and difficult. However, it’s also creative, wild, and incredible for how it all works together. As students, we can do fantastic things with what we’re learning, build whatever we want, and create magic every day."

"Pursue a full-time position as a network engineer. Additionally, my research project has expanded my interest in making technology and research work to improve lives and infrastructure, so if I can explore that as well, that would be a bonus. Long term, I’d like to develop my own consulting business to work with non-profits and businesses that focus on progressive causes."

"I am a PhD graduate student in computer science at the University of Kentucky. My current role is a research assistant in the lab of my doctoral advisor, Dr. Hana Khamfroush. I essentially work on research under the direction of my doctoral advisor. That work consists of a large variety of tasks: writing papers, running experiments, designing new models/algorithms, implementing models and algorithms using code, data analysis, drafting grant proposals, etc.

Additionally, this summer I had the opportunity to lightly work alongside two undergraduate assistants who worked in our lab on two projects pertaining to research projects we have in the pipeline. I served in a leadership position ensuring they understood how to complete certain tasks, install the necessary software in compliance with our IT department, etc. Previously, I have served as a teaching assistant for two years. That role largely consisted of grading, holding office hours, meeting with students, teaching, and sometimes even designing the large projects students would have to work on."

"Through NKU, I was granted many opportunities to partake in undergraduate research and teaching. Starting my freshman year, I began working with Dr. Maureen Doyle, Dr. Kristi Haik, and Dr. Madhura Kulkarni on a transdisciplinary study of undergraduate retention. I stumbled upon the opportunity in a very organic way, with no idea of what to expect, but I loved the experience. Further, I got to present findings of our research in a poster presentation at the 2014 AAC&U conference in Atlanta, GA. That was life-changing.

Being able to speak with academics about something you committed so much time and energy to and be the expert on the material was gratifying and fulfilling. However, I think the thing that really made it click for me was falling in love with teaching. I served for three years as an academic tutor at Learning PLUS at NKU. Additionally, I was able to serve as a TA for several courses and a peer mentor for the Honors Program in 2015. All of those experiences really made it clear to me that my passion was in teaching.

I really enjoy the impact you can have on a student's life. And, even simpler than that, just that moment of when a concept finally makes sense to a student and you see that lightbulb go off is euphoric. With a love for both research and teaching, the obvious route was to pursue a PhD. Going into my undergraduate education, this was never the path I had imagined for myself. I'm relieved to say that I know I made the right choice and I have NKU to thank for that."

"I am studying computer science. However, that's not super helpful because it's an increasingly overwhelming field in terms of size. More specifically, I study online social networks and interdependent systems — with emphasis on how machine learning can be applied to study problems in these domains. In the area of online social networks, I am heavily motivated in understanding how information spreads on these platforms.

I'm interested in studying how to maximize or minimize the spread of certain information in an algorithmic fashion. As for interdependent systems, I find the relationships between two (or more) seemingly unrelated systems (such as power grid networks and water filtration systems) interact with one another through ways of interdependency.

I spend a lot of time following what is being done in the realm of machine learning so that those findings can be incorporated to solve problems these domains. More broadly, I am largely attracted to anything that deals with graph theory in some way; it's one of my favorite areas of computer science."

"I try to give back to NKU and the Northern Kentucky area as best as I can given the limited time that I have as a PhD student. While at NKU, I began to be a volunteer for the Kenton Informatics Academy program. Each fall and spring, I would serve as an advisor that gave feedback to students working on an informatics/computer science project for the first time. I have maintained my participation in that role. I have kept in contact with faculty members on-campus to help out in whatever way I can. Of course, I can always do more to give back and I look forward to doing so in the future.

Honestly, it is very difficult for me to narrow it down to one single memory. I had the pleasure of having countless fond memories at NKU that I will carry with me forever. However, there is one moment that does stand out to me. My freshman year, I was honored to be selected to participate in the "Outstanding Freshman Projects" seminar series (forgive me if I have gotten the title wrong) for the year of 2014. Me and roughly ten other freshman Honors students would present their final projects from the Fall 2013 semester. My project was entitled, "The Link Between Resilience and Optimism" and it was a small study that correlated survey responses to index scores that measure resilience based on a well-studied test used by social scientists.

Overall, in reflection, I think the project was cool and had interesting results. But, my parents were both able to make it to the showcase to see me present. Not to brag too much about myself, but I did a pretty solid job presenting my project. My parents were floored with my presentation and were stunned to see me do so well in an academic setting. This meant the world to me simply because it was not until high school where I began to really do well academically, but my parents never got the opportunity to see me do well in school. They saw my grades, of course, but they never got the chance to see me do "my thing" and that was just a great opportunity for me. It is something that sticks with me forever now because my parents always remind me of what I am capable of when I'm feeling discouraged. All of that is because NKU provided accessible opportunities for them to see me in action."

"This is going to sound incredibly generic, but enjoy your time in college. My time in graduate school has been thrilling. I now have two papers published, with more already prepared to be submitted for publication, and I'm getting closer to my dream profession of being a future faculty member. However, I will forever miss my time at NKU. I will miss all of my friends living right next to me (which is why I often refer to my college life as feeling "like a sitcom"). I will miss the faculty members that really took the time to get to know me; I still maintain strong relationships with several of them. I miss the freedom that came along with being a college student, in an environment where you can learn new things daily and engage with people of different backgrounds easily.

It is very difficult to replicate the college experience once you're graduated. So, please, take advantage of the opportunities NKU offers you. Go to the after-school dodgeball events, the student theatre productions, and anything else you think you might enjoy. There are a whole litany of pieces of advice I can provide. But, I think that undergraduate students (or at least some that I knew) get so caught up in a fantasy for life after college that they miss what's in front of them. Life after college can be great, but it's hard and probably not as romantic as it is in your head. So, just enjoy college and take advantage of this time because it's very possible you'll never be an environment quite like it again."

"I chose to major in Computer Science because I have always had an interest in how computers are used to create things in various different fields to make advancements in society. It started as a kid through my interest in video games and science fiction but as I got older, it evolved into seeing how to computers were used in tons of different fields to turn the science fiction I always imagined into reality. I also like the challenge of trying to figure out how to write code to fix a certain problem and the sense of accomplishment that I receive when I actually solve the issue."

"During my time at NKU so far, I have worked on two different research projects. The first project I worked on was with Dr. Wei Hao in a project that involved trying to figure the viability of Edge Computing, an IT architecture that allows for computation and data storage closer to the user rather than at a centralized data center. The second project I worked on was with Dr. Erin Strome in a project that involved trying to discover the role of two genes in the development of cancer through multiple different data analyses and computer programs."

"My recommendation for incoming students at NKU is to first master your time management skills. If you can manage to prioritize the important things you need to do to succeed in college through good time management, you can make sure that your time is open to get help if you need it, get ahead rather than behind, and get out and experience college while you can. I also recommend to network with faculty and students so that you can possibly gain opportunities or knowledge that you may not have gained otherwise."

"After graduation, I would like to do research in a field that combines the use of computers and something in the medical or biological field such as neuroscience. I want to do this because it can provide fulfilling work in a field that I have heavy interest in. I would also like to eventually be apart of an important development in my field or make an important contribution to the world so that I have something to be remembered for."

"My responsibilities in Digital Technology Leadership Program (DTLP) will be constantly changing. The program is designed for me to work in teams as a technical asset as well as develop my leadership and business skills along the way. For the next two years I will work with different teams all over the world where I will get to function in cybersecurity, software development, and project management! I am excited for what I will learn and that I get to start my career this way!"

"I love finding ways to share my passion for technology with others, I plan to take part in mentorship programs and be involved with any events meant to trigger younger peoples’ passion for tech. I’d like to also find ways that I can be helpful to the NKU Cybersecurity Club  NKCyber after I’ve graduated."

"The first time I had the opportunity to be the team Captain for the NKU Cyber Defense team. We were a newer team and we weren’t even sure how we were going to even compete. When we found out that we won first place in the state of Kentucky, it was such a joyful experience."

"Work hard, strive to be one of the best, but remember to take time have some fun."

"Majors in the Computer Science Department are full of problem solving and challenges, something I knew I wanted in my major. Another drawing point is the wide array of industries that utilize Computer Science, which offers many paths to take post-graduation."

"I participated in an internship opportunity with Archer Daniels Midland’s Data and Analytics team where I worked to build a dashboard of Key Performance Indicators for the various teams in Data and Analytics. This gave me the chance to work on a team with people from different backgrounds, learn how to work with changing deliverables. I also was able to take part in Twitter Data Research with Dr. Marius Truta and Dr. Alina Campan."

"Get involved on campus in as many ways as possible. While course work is the extremely important, there are a lot of skills to be learned outside of the classroom as well. The soft skills I gained through on campus employment and leadership roles in organizations during my time in college have played key roles in allowing me to be successful in various professional opportunities."

"I plan to work full-time, and then also pursue a Master's degree."

"I like the feeling of when I am able to complete a difficult coding assignment. It gives me a rush. I also like the fact that my major is so versatile and that there are a lot of careers I can pursue."

"I did a research project last summer on the "Internet of Things" with Dr. Hao. I am currently a camp leader in the CINSAM summer camp for 4th and 5th graders and also a peer coach at the College of Informatics Advising Center. I plan to do a co-op during the upcoming Fall/Spring semester with Promevo. All these experiences have made me feel more confident in myself and they have made me feel less symptoms of the infamous 'imposter syndrome'. Ultimately, I have met a lot of wonderful people who have made my stay at NKU a very successful one."

"I would recommend that you join organizations so you can get to meet other students who have similar interests as you. I also would advise that you get to know your professors beyond the classroom. That could come in very handy when you need recommendation letters for internships, jobs or scholarships."

"After graduation I plan to work full-time, and then also pursue a Master's degree."

"I love that computer science has vast application and can be essential to other fields of study. Using my major, I can contribute to physics (as I did in my summer research) or health studies or finance or any other field I want. Having all these options means it will never get boring."

"I have done work on research projects with faculty here on campus as well as attended multiple hackathons over the course of my college years. One of the research projects I have worked of is the ISS-CREAM (International Space Station – Cosmic Ray Energetics And Mass) project. On this project, I worked on writing a C++ program that was used to basically clean up data that was received from the ISS. I also wrote several helper scripts in python and bash for the C++ program.

The hackathons I've attended have greatly impacted me in terms of changing my view on learning and shaping what I want to pursue as a career. I have attended different types of hackathons with different themes ranging from improving customer experience to data utilization. The biggest hackathon I have attended so far was GlobalHack VII. The theme of this hackathon was to make a product that improves the lives of foreign-born individuals. Inspired by NKU’s International Friendship Family Program, my team decided to make a web application that would connect migrants with volunteering individuals/families. Our project ended up coming in 2^nd place out of 40+ teams and my team won $10,000."

"My top recommendation for other students in my major is to get involved in computer science related activities outside of the classroom. Doing research is one great way to learn a lot of new concepts and technologies that will be very valuable skills in the future.

Another way to get involved is to attend hackathons. Several universities around the area (and sometimes companies) host hackathons throughout the year and these are exciting events to be a part of. In addition to the technical skill you will gain working on a project for 24 hours, you will also gain valuable skills such as time management, ability to work in teams and problem-solving."

"I have accepted a full-time position as a Software Engineer at Paycor where I will be part of a team developing various reporting tools. 

Click here to read about Tobel's 84.51° Hackathon experience."

"I enjoy critical thinking, problem solving, learning about computers and making the world a safer place."

"I have participated in 2 technology internships with the same company (Mubea) during the summers of 2018 and 2017. I have also participated in many CTFs that have been hosted by the informatics department and the Cyber Defense Club.

My participation in both these activities has given me valuable hands on experience as well as a drive to learn more about my field of study."

"I would recommend that they do their best in their studies. Don’t lose site of the goal (graduation). Find your specialty within the major, choose whatever you like the most about CIT and study that as much as you can. The work force needs specialist in almost every area of CIT."

"I am currently working for the Corporate Information Security team at Kroger."

"My favorite thing about my majors is how small my classes are which allows me to interact with my professors and other students on a more personal level. I have had so many opportunities because of the connections I have made within both the College of Informatics and the Department of Mathematics and Statistics.

Both of my majors also allow me to combine my personal interests with academic projects. Being in Data Science, we have a lot of freedom in the data sets we use which makes doing the work all that more enjoyable."

"I have had two internships, one with the Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired and one with GE Aviation. My experiences were very different at each company, but both gave me exposure to new technologies and showed me how the technologies I learned in class applied to the real world. Interning really increased my soft skills and gave me fantastic networking opportunities that lead to me receiving a job offer!

I also participated in several hackathons throughout my college career! I attended Data Fest at Miami University for the first-time last year and will be attending again this year! I also participated in the COMAP (Consortium for Mathematics and Its Applications) Mathematical Modeling Competition this past January. Hackathons give you the unique chance to work on a project from start to finish on an extremely sped up time frame. They are a great chance to learn new skills and boost your creativity!"

"I would encourage students to get to know their professors more! One of my favorite parts of my college experience has been getting to know my professors on a more personal level. I would also recommend that students take some time to explore topics in data science and math outside of the classroom. Both of these are huge subject areas, and it would be impossible to cover everything in your classes. Finally, I would suggest getting involved on campus! There are so many different clubs and organizations to choose from, and they will all give you a unique perspective and help build your resume!"

"I will be joining the Digital Technology Leadership Program at GE Aviation in Cincinnati! Here I will have the opportunity to do four six-month rotations, each in a different technical role."

"I am a Client Support Specialist I here at Northern Kentucky University. My main responsibility is to provide I.T. support for staff and faculty so that their work flow can progress, which ensures the success of our students.

As well as supporting staff and faculty, I am responsible for hardware repair, individual machine imaging, and lab imaging. I also oversee and guide students that have been hired on and that are assigned to my team."

"Considering I work here at Northern, I would say I give a decent amount of my time back to the university. I also try to impart some knowledge to the students that I work with here on campus."

"I think my best memories were the ones I got to create with my friends in between my classes here at NKU. Whether it was just hanging out in the Student Union, or a very hurried trip down to Newport for ice cream or grilled cheese. NKU really solidified several of the friendships that I have."

"A motto I embrace is, “If it’s free, it’s for me.” Never pass up free food, you might even find something new that you like. Don’t pass up free items as well, you never know when that weird pen with the highlighter on the other end is going to come in handy. Keep and emergency snack somewhere, backpack, purse, car, doesn’t matter. It will come in handy when nothing else is open.  Also, go to class, you are only cheating yourself out of the knowledge that you are paying for. Talk to your professors, they are people too. Chances are they can help you beyond the topics happening in class. Lastly, make friends with people in majors other than your own. Different perspectives and knowledge bases will prove to be handy in a myriad of problems."

"I am a Senior Director at Kroger Corporate Headquarters in Cincinnati. My primary role is Privacy Officer and Chair of Data Sharing Governance for the Kroger enterprise."

"I have been a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board for the College of Informatics for the past 5 years. In that role, myself as well as other members from other Cincinnati/N. Kentucky organizations act as a sounding board for the Dean and provide input/feedback for new ideas and specific focus areas for the COI as well as help to make connections within the business community. I am currently on a task force with the COI as we look for innovative ways to increase COI enrollment and get prospective high school students interested in Informatics and NKU.  I have also participated in career fairs at NKU."

"Graduation of course! Students today cannot relate to this but I have many fond memories of going to the computer lab all hours of the day and night with fellow students working on our programming projects."

"I would like current students to know they are in the age of data and innovation and that data drives many decisions in the business world.  The COI is a great opportunity to bring data together to get a 360  degree view of your business and to tell a story.  Businesses today rely on data and the insights from that data can transform their business.  Be part of the solution and use your major to make a difference!  I think the quote from Bill Gates sums it up nicely……“Information technology and business are becoming inextricably interwoven. I don't think anybody can talk meaningfully about one without the talking about the other” (1999)."

"I am a Senior Software Engineer II at Xandr, an AT&T company, which is a platform for programmatic advertising. Programmatic advertising, also referred to as Real Time Bidding (RTB), is akin to an auction where advertisers bid on the chance to show an ad to the user. This ad could be an empty spot on a web-page, an audio advertisement on your internet-radio, an ad that plays before your video, etc. Typically these auctions happen on demand (as the page loads) and complete in about a tenth of a second.

I work on the Supply & Demand team which has the mandate to support our supply-side integrations (providing our platform with additional publisher inventory), such as Google's Authorized Buyers platform, and to support 3rd party bidders that participate in the auctions on our platform. I am primarily responsible for our supply-side integration with Google which involves building and maintaining a couple of different applications written in C and C++ and participate as a bidder on their platform. I also assist in other strategic areas to accelerate initial development or provide support on difficult bugs. This includes our internal tooling we build for our support team to troubleshoot integration, a new UI for our bidder clients, and providing a set of reusable components for building micro-services."

"I have focused on giving back to my work community by leading training sessions and encouraging practices such as "lunch and learns" and "mob-programming sessions." I have recently started to build out cpp-vs.com as a way to contribute outside of my work environment. In the future I would like to focus more on contributing to the development community and to NKU."

"I don't know if there is a single memory that stands out above the rest, but I can say that working with the other students at CAI was fantastic. Being able to "nerd-out" over similar interests, work on fun projects, and play Minecraft on our shared server really made NKU feel like somewhere I belonged."

"The most valuable skill you can master is how to learn. Learning doesn't stop after college and isn't something that only continues in post-grad. In the course of my career the ability to learn, and do so quickly, has been essential."

"I graduated from NKU with a BS summa cum laude in Computer Science in August 2002. I earned an MS in Computer Science from Indiana University, Bloomington in May 2004. I completed my PhD in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Cincinnati in June 2011 with the support of the National Science Foundation and the Ford Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships."

"I am currently a Senior Machine Learning Engineer at Sunrise Technology. Sunrise Technology is a Kroger commercial technology venture company which invents and markets innovative and advanced technologies to other companies. In my position I translate business requirements into Machine Learning and Computer Vision technologies. I design and implement scalable Machine Learning and Computer Vision algorithms to solve business challenges. In addition, I extract insightful and actionable knowledge from sensor events and big data. I am also responsible for developing rapid prototypes including database, backend, and frontend components for Video Analytics. I liaise between departments to ensure Machine Learning and Computer Vision technologies are designed and implemented in alignment with Sunrise Technology Standards."

"One of my fondest memories at NKU was taking my first class in Artificial Intelligence with Dr. Fox. This class ignited my curiosity and taught me the fundamentals of AI. It laid the foundation for my graduate studies and early career, and ultimately led to my position as a Senior Machine Learning Engineer."

"Give everything you’ve got to your studies and excel in your classes. But that isn’t enough. At every opportunity, do more than what is expected of you. In particular, take advantage of undergraduate research opportunities on and beyond the NKU campus. For example, as an undergraduate I participated in the NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates. This opened up a world of opportunities for me. NKU is unusual in the number of opportunities for undergraduate research, especially in cooperation with faculty. Your professors want to work with you and see you become a star in your own right, so take advantage of that."