Technology Students, Alumni, and Faculty Network at International Software Development Conference

Five Software Development and IT students, joined by Curry College Professor Ron Krawitz and alumni Keith Fitts (Software Development, '17) and Matthew Gallagher (Software Development, '18), attended the international software development conference, Visual Studio Live, in Boston from June 9 -13.

Students in attendance were, Alex Antoine, Class of 2020, Accursa Carbo, Class of 2020, Reham El-Dahrawy, Class of 2022, Bryan Garson, Class of 2020, and Marcel Mensah, Class of 2020.

Visual Studio Live (VSLive) is an international professional software developers conference held four times each year in cities throughout the U.S. and Canada.  It is a gathering place for professional software developers and software development managers to exchange ideas about today's technology, learn how to use tomorrow's technology, and exchange ideas about future technology.

Each day, students shared breakfast and lunch with conference speakers.  This networking allowed our students to learn much about participating in the profession including: what is expected of an entry level developer, how to conduct oneself in a professional setting, how to find mentors, how to interview, and more.  Over the past three VSLive conferences in Boston, multiple Curry students have been offered job interviews on the spot. 

Due to Professor Krawitz's involvement throughout the years, Curry has regularly been awarded scholarships for students to attend VSLive in Boston (each approximately a $2,000 value).  VSLive is the beginning of lifelong learning for those students who secure a scholarship.  Scholarships are earned by a combination of classroom performance, mentoring new students, tutoring, leading study groups, participating in Code Camps, and demonstrating the social skills necessary to succeed in a professional environment.

Matt Gallagher '18 is currently a full-time Software Engineering grad student at Boston University, and is expected to graduate in December 2019, and Keith Fitts '17 just completed his M.S. in Data Sciences from Syracuse University and now works for the State of Massachusetts.