USF @ Tapia Conference

 

This year, USF attended the ACM Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing in San Diego. USF Computer Science undergraduate and graduate students were able to network with other students and professionals from around the country and experience diversity in technology by way of informative speaker series and career fair. Shared experiences like these take USF education beyond the classroom and into the real world, where new longlasting professional relationships are formed and further developed.

We asked students who attended to share their experience with us:

What was your main motivation for attending Tapia? What goals did you set, and did you achieve them?

I wanted to attend Tapia so that I would be able to be part of a community that accepted and allowed diversity and did the promotion of uplifting these communities. I also wanted to have access to a lot of companies so that I can discuss and learn more about the whole internship process.

  • Aditya Dixit, BSCS ’21

How was your experience at the Tapia Conference? What stood out and why?

Tapia Conference was a nice experience. It was refreshing to see so many people from diverse backgrounds. I liked how people were friendly and willing to engage other attendees they’d only just met – that was true for the students, recruiters, and every other attendee including the keynote speakers. I also liked that there were various opportunities to connect with people not just at the conference center but at different events organized by attending companies.

  • Sope Ogundipe, MSCS ’20
What speakers or sessions stood out to you? Why?
I enjoyed a session that was on Microaggressions towards women and minorities simply because it helped me think of certain situations through a different lens and allowed me to learn about strategies in handling those situations.
  • Antonio Gutierrez, BSCS ’21
What was your biggest surprise from the Tapia conference?
I liked that there was a bigger turnout this year from last year that I attended, I saw more people attending and different companies participating this year which was very impressive.
  • Alejandro Garcia, BSCS ’20
Did you have any interviews? If so, with what companies?
I got interviews with Square and Bloomberg.
  • Sope Ogundipe, MSCS ’20
Yes, I received an interview with Cruise Automation and Qualcomm
  • Alejandro Garcia, BSCS ’20
Is there anything else you would like to share about your experience at Tapia?
I really enjoyed it and I thank Gian and USF for giving me the opportunity to attend Tapia 2019.
Students had the opportunity to network with the following companies:
  • Facebook
  • Square
  • Bloomberg
  • Wayfair
  • Circle CI
  • Dolby
  • Microsoft
  • DataDog
  • Google
  • JP Morgan Chase
  • BNY Mellon
  • Airbnb
  • Goldman Sachs
  • Cruise Automation
  • Qualcomm

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