Stefan Wagner, BS computer science and mathematics ’24, honors, will represent undergraduate students as a student speaker at the 2024 College of Computing & Informatics (CCI) Commencement Ceremony held at The Mann Center on Thursday, June 13. Stefan is a distinguished recipient of the 2023 Barry Goldwater Scholarship, which recognizes exceptional performance among undergraduate sophomores and juniors who plan to pursue research careers in STEM. He started his research journey towards the end of his freshman year when he reached out to CCI Associate Professor Edward Kim, PhD to express his interests, which led to his participation in a deep learning music generation project throughout the summer of 2020. Throughout his time at Drexel, he has utilized the co-op system to gain further research experience. Wagner intends to pursue a PhD in computer science centered around machine learning and cognitive modeling on a theoretical level. He has actively participated in the Pennoni Honors College through the Honors Program. He is also a recipient of CCI’s 2023 High Performance Computing Award in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the computer science community at Drexel.
Sangeetha Umapathy, MS software engineering ‘23, will represent CCI graduate students as a student speaker at the 2024 CCI Commencement Ceremony as well. Umapathy is a director of software architecture at Comcast based in Philadelphia. Previously, Sangeetha was a senior manager of BSS Solution Design at Comcast and also held positions at Tata Communications, Tesco Broadband, Neotel, BT, CenturyLink. Sangeetha also holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Government College of Technology, Coimbatore. Umapathy was among a cohort of 25 student employees from Comcast earning master’s degrees in software engineering while working full time. As Umapathy recently shared about her experience: “We learned to juggle responsibilities, navigated the complexities of remote learning, and persisted for three long years. Our resilience wasn’t just about enduring; it was about evolving. It was about finding innovative ways to connect, support each other, and push forward despite the obstacles. Our journey wasn’t easy, but it was a testament to our unwavering determination. I congratulate each and every one of the [cohort] on their graduation. We have risen strong, showcasing the power of resilience and perseverance.”