Majoring in mathematics with a computer science concentration took Alan Young ’17 on a journey of real-world training and creative development during his time at Berry. This preparation led to a summer internship with ImagineX Consulting, a business and technology consulting firm, and then a job offer before graduation.
When he arrived at Berry as a freshman, Alan had not settled on a major, but his first calculus and computer science courses quickly convinced him that mathematics was the right path. He also concentrated in computer science and minored in creative technologies after taking a formative physical computing course with Associate Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science Nadeem Hamid, an influential mentor. “Dr. Hamid offered constant advice and assistance throughout my studies, as well as during my job search,” Alan says.
“Alan excelled in all his computer science courses and became well-versed in multiple programming language paradigms,” Dr. Hamid says. “Many of our courses require students to work on projects in groups, and Alan developed his own gentle but effective method of contributing his opinion and effort in a group setting, and being able to lead the group in a successful direction.”
Dr. Hamid adds that rigorous computer science courses and research opportunities with faculty laid the foundation for Alan’s off-campus summer research and professional experience: “As a research assistant, Alan worked on a project with me to help develop and test a Java library for performing automated schema analysis and data binding of web data from arbitrary sources.”
Alan made strategic connections while attending a job fair at Atlanta Tech Village with Zane Cochran, clinical instructor of creative technologies at Berry. He met the team at ImagineX Consulting and landed an internship to build an iOS application to help manage their company rewards system.
Outside of his academic studies, Alan participated in Berry’s LifeWorks program, gaining hands-on experience as a student in the Berry Information Technology Students (BITS) program — first as a technician and eventually as a team lead helping other students with technical difficulties at the IT help desk.
Today, Alan is a cloud and software engineering consultant at ImagineX Consulting, with high hopes for his future in software development. “Building something new and interesting to help people accomplish more has always interested me, and technology changes so quickly that I am always learning something new,” Alan says.
Reflecting on his Berry experience, Alan adds, “Don’t be afraid to get to know your professors. Berry is a small school, and in your major, you will see the same professors a lot. Participate in their extracurricular events ... Build meaningful relationships that will help and support you in your time at and after college.”
Staff Writer
