With Commencement in the books, a majority of College of Staten Island students are now embarking on their next adventure, and for a handful of Computer Science students, that means landing some incredible opportunities in the workforce.
Joseph DeMario is just one of those success stories, converting what was an internship into a full-time position with MetLife at their headquarters in Cary, NC. DeMario, who interned remotely as a MTU Virtual Intern for the insurance giant last summer, will now be one of the company’s DevOps Engineers, streamlining the process between software development and operations, working specifically on software that MetLife employees utilize internally. DeMario, who also worked within CodePath at CSI to gain valuable experience in the field, was quick to credit the experiences at CodePath and with the internship as invaluable tools that have helped him prepare for this next chapter.
“CodePath was so instrumental in providing me with the opportunity to intern at MetLife. It gave me the opportunity to participate in their Virtual Career Fair to chat with many companies and it helped me understand the roles and responsibilities of a technical position. It helped me step outside my comfort zone and improved my most feared skill, public speaking,” DeMario said. “My summer internship meanwhile provided me with hands-on experience in the tech field, and the more I worked for MetLife, the more I envisioned myself working at their headquarters in North Carolina. I met so many great people throughout the internship so now that I can see them in person in a few days is exciting. I’m moving to a new state with people I already know, which makes the move that much easier.”
DeMario is one of many internship-to-full-time-employment success stories. In his case, he was able to stay within MetLife, while others, like Praise Adejunmobi, were able to parlay internships into work elsewhere. The subject of a recent CSI Today Talks podcast, Adejunmobi will be flying to Austin, TX, to be a Product Manager at Expedia. The Nigerian-born Adejunmobi hopes to one day create apps that help underrepresented groups assimilate and integrate on foreign soil, and knows that the work she will be doing at Expedia will prepare her for her long-range goals.
The same is true for recent-grad Vincent Ndokaj, a first-generation college graduate who had job offers lined up with both Google and Facebook (Meta), and chose to begin his career track with Facebook in Boston, MA, as a Software Engineer Not sure what his future would hold when he entered college, Ndokaj credits the academic discipline with igniting his passion with technology.
January graduates Melchizidek Tetteh and Richard Walker, Jr. agree. Walker, Jr. already made his trip across the country, as he is working with Geocaching Headquarters in Seattle, WA, as a Junior Developer. Tetteh, meanwhile, used his experiences and the recent degree to land an Applications Developer position with Mutual of Omaha. He has been working remotely and plans to stay that way for the company based in Idaho.
“It’s great to have an opportunity to work with a company like Mutual of Omaha remotely,” he said. “I get to work full-time for a great company while still focusing on my interests in Cloud development and AWS certification. I really have to thank CSI and the CUNY Tech Talent Pipeline, which helped me learn more and more and gave me the inspiration to pursue my passions. Being a part of CodePath and working with my professors and advisors opened so many doors for me.”
Omar Barragan is working with Accenture, both remotely and in person, as a Technology Architecture Delivery Analyst, also converting his former internship into full-time work. It was important to him to land that great job opportunity after college, and he credits CSI with giving him that opportunity. “It was a crucial part for me in landing a job right after graduating. CSI provided me with a great network of resources. I joined CSI after completing my associate’s degree, and having a club like Hack CSI and being able to take part in their hackathon, partnering with other training curriculums like CodePath, as well as being a part of a big network of future developers where one can bounce ideas, be innovative, and provide great feedback and talks where we can help one another, it was all critical.”
Not to be outdone is Jessica Jumelles, another first-generation college student who found her way into Computer Science and has landed employment along with Barragan at Accenture as a Technology Architecture Delivery Analyst, another example of someone who found her niche at CSI.
This collection of students is just a microcosm of the incredible success stories born out of the College of Staten Island and the mark that alumni will have on the world around them. They couldn’t be more excited about the opportunities and they all know that they represent CSI where they go.
“CSI, without a doubt, prepared me for this next venture and got me ready to be at my best,” DeMario stated. “Whether it was the insightful professors in the Computer Science Department like Tatiana Anderson who encouraged us to present some of our passion projects at Demo Day or the helpful advisors like Kristi Brescia who were always accessible if you had an issue with course scheduling, they were always willing to lend a helping hand whenever needed. I can’t thank CSI enough for the opportunities they provide. They’ve made it so that we can’t wait to take what we learned into the professional world.”
