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Last week, Brittany Soares '21 offered her programming expertise to guest teach high school students at Somerville High School as part of its annual Hour of Code event. The global event introduces coding and programming skills to millions of K-12 students worldwide through one-hour tutorials and is widely adopted among computer science educators. In the class, Soares taught sophomores the history of programming, real-world applications of programming, and the benefits of working in a career focused on technology.
"What I enjoyed most about this experience was being able to inspire young minds and show them how technology fits not only into computer-related fields but also careers such as art and biology," she says. "I was once in their position, unknowing about what I wanted to major in in college. I think that being able to hear a personal account of my successful journey throughout college provided the students with a stronger desire to consider the field of technology."
Soares recently interned with the corporate technology team at Citizens Bank and was offered a full-time job to join the team after graduating in the spring. "It's exciting to have a full-time offer well before graduation, and I know it is a direct result of the hard work and dedication I've put in at Curry and throughout my internships," she says.
The software development major will start in May as a Software Engineer and join more than 3,000 colleagues at the company's corporate headquarters in Johnston, R.I, for the new role, which helps to serve technology needs across its organizational business units. During her internship, Soares contributed to the HR Technology Engineering team to help configure HR applications and develop application program interfaces (API), as well as create a handout to inform employees on how to best work with the new technology, all while working remotely full-time at home in Lakeville, Mass. During the summer.
In addition to Citizens Bank, Soares also served as an IT Project Coordinator intern at Hasbro, a leading toymaker headquartered in Rhode Island. But for the next few months, she will focus on her studies in her senior year at Curry. In addition to working at Citizens Bank in the spring, she hopes to complete a few specialized AWS and Scrum certifications. She is also considering a graduate degree to further her success as a software engineer.
"I know that all of my technology courses helped me develop the necessary skills needed to be successful in my internships."