Alumni Spotlight:

What I do now: I’m a software engineer for Amazon, working on Prime Video. Each day is a little different. There is coding, design work, team meetings to bounce ideas around, monitoring existing systems, root-causing customer-facing problems, etc. You are working a lot with your peers in the professional setting, which is very different from individual coding projects at Hartwick, so it is an adjustment to work collaboratively as a team. Problem-solving and being a good technical writer are extremely valuable skills to have, as well as being able to share your ideas with technical and non-technical audiences. It’s important to continue building on your knowledge and stay up to date with the latest technologies.

Hartwick Experience that has Impacted My Professional Life: I was uncertain what to pursue as a college major, although I excelled in math and science courses throughout high school. Hartwick’s pre-engineering program sparked my interest since its purpose was to place me in various STEM courses until I decided on a particular direction. I also loved the town of Oneonta when I first visited and thought it wasn’t too close or too far from my hometown.

Hartwick introduced me to computer science as part of the pre-engineering program, which was ultimately the experience I needed to get into the role I’m in today. Professors made all the classes fun and engaging, helping me stay interested in this line of work and encouraging me to apply for different roles in the field. In particular, one of the physics professors guided me towards different internship opportunities, one of which was in Washington D.C., where it combined both my degrees – physics and computer science. That internship ultimately led to me getting my first job, and the experience from that was critical for getting hired at my most recent jobs at ESPN and Amazon.

My Transition from College Student to Professional Career: The professors at Hartwick, good friends, and the computer science program itself pushed me to continue down this career path. I saw the endless possibilities and chances for success that come from the big technology companies in the world, such as Google, Apple, Amazon, Meta, etc, and saw it as a fun challenge to tackle.

Advice for Current Students: There are many different paths you can take with a computer science degree, such as a backend engineer, web developer, mobile developer, network engineer, security engineer, data scientist, system architect, etc. Take advantage of the variety of classes and electives that Hartwick offers in order to discover what interests you the most. Additionally, try to complete multiple internships before graduation. Internships are the best way to experience a professional work environment during your time at Hartwick and to make your resume stand out amongst others around the world.

Spotlight by Stella Giustino ’25