Victor Alves

School/Division	Division of Information Technology & Sciences
Programs	Computer Science & Innovation Major
Class	2020
Pronouns	He/Him/His
Home State	Mexico

Specialization

Software Engineering

Double Minor

Data Science and Mathematics

Internship

Software Engineering Intern for NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, NY

Favorite Class

Computer Science: Emerging Languages

Post-Grad Job

Software Development Engineer for Amazon in Seattle, WA

Have you had any on-campus jobs?

I’ve worked at the SMART Space as a programming lab tutor, and as a Peer Career Coach in the Career Collaborative. As a tutor, I learned how to break down complex topics for students to fill in the gaps in their knowledge. As a Peer Coach, I’ve learned what it means to be successful in the workplace and how to best work with students in a one-on-one environment. Both roles have helped me further develop social skills, and I can confidently say that I wouldn’t be half as prepared as I am to start my career without them.

Can you tell us about your internship?

I was a Software Engineering Intern for NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York. I worked with a team of interns, researchers, and software engineers to develop an application for the researchers. We were able to modernize some of the data extraction tools they used. I had the opportunity to present my project at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland with the other interns, and we got a tour of some of the facilities. It was a fantastic experience, and gave me a competitive advantage when it came to securing my post-graduation job.

How has Champlain prepared you for the professional world?

I came to Champlain with little to no programming experience, and I leave with enough experience to feel comfortable working at any company on anything related to software development. After graduation, I will be working for Amazon as a Software Development Engineer in Seattle. Ideally, I’d love to obtain a Master’s degree in Computer Science or Data Science, but my life goal is to write software to help put humans on Mars.