Hear from Leah Bracken ‘18.5, Customer Engineer at Google about Software Engineering and Liberal Arts
Announcing CCI and Middlebury in DC‘s final episode of our MIDDVantage: Careers in Technology’s New Frontiers series!
Join us today for a special episode featuring Leah Bracken ‘18.5, customer engineer at Google, as she shares her insights on the expanding cloud solutions market. Gain valuable knowledge from her experience as a solutions engineer and learn how a liberal arts education can prepare you for success in this field. Find out what skillsets are necessary for entering this technical role. Don’t miss out!
Exploring Careers in Technology’s New Frontiers is a collaborative series developed by the Center for Careers and Internships and Middlebury in DC with content contribution from members of the Middlebury Professional Network and Middlebury students.
Watch the full series at go.middlebury.edu/MiddVantageTech.
New Episode Alert! The Product Development Process and Functional Roles with David Mendelson ’00 (Computer Science), Vice President Product Development, Wheel
CCI and Middlebury in DC are thrilled to present the latest episode of MiddVantage’s career series in technology. In this episode, David Mendelson ’00, the VP of Product Development at Wheel, a telehealthcare startup, shares his expertise on the product development process and functional roles. David’s experience spans over 20 years in the technology industry, including consumer electronics, enterprise hardware, enterprise SaaS (CRM & construction), and healthcare. Watch this fascinating episode and learn from David’s wealth of knowledge in the field.
Guest Speaker: David Mendelson ’00 (Computer Science), Vice President Product Development, Wheel
Video: 45 minutes
The content segments below indicate the approximate time marks in the recording during which the specific content is discussed. The segments include:
- At 0:35 – Dave describes his pathway from Midd to career
- At 2:20 – Introducing the software development process
- At 3:10 – Various product/R&D roles
- Engineer
- Product Manager
- UX Designer
- UI Developer
- Technical Program Manager
- Data Scientist/Data Analyst
- DevOps
- Quality Assurance (QA)/Software Developer Engineer in Test (SDET)
- At 18:20 – Non-technical Roles
- Product Marketing
- Customer Success/Operations
- Sales
- At 22:00 – Example R&D organizational structures
- At 25:00 – Planning and Building Software – Product Life Cycle (discover, commit, execute, manage)
- At 35:00 Audience Q&A
- Scrum process described
- Career advancement pathway
- How new features become defined
About the series: Within five years, there will be over 50 billion smart connected devices in the world connected to the distributed cloud. 5G and increased bandwidth will collect and transfer more data than ever, enabling advances in the area of the Internet of Things (IoT), robots, autonomous vehicles, practical blockchain, and human augmentation, creating geopolitical challenges, data privacy concerns, and cyber security demands. These are just a few of the biggest transformational dynamics that will power new frontiers in technology. This series includes interviews with many professionals who will share their vantage points on new frontiers in technology, their paths from campus to career, and career advice they would have for students interested in this career space.
Hear the careers in technology panel discussion with Midd alumni leaders in tech (recorded from live panel)
When it comes to the technology field, there is a broad variety of ways to pursue your interests and find outlets for your abilities; digital technology has driven convergence in many ways. The panelists will talk about the trends shaping the scope of this industry and what they mean for future roles in this field? Hear from a panel of Middlebury alumni with a variety of backgrounds who now have careers across a wide spectrum within the industry.
A Conversation With:
- Dan Kelley ’99 (Political Science, German), Engineering Manager, Meta
- Pete McSherry ’06 (Economics), Senior Vice President, Platform Data Strategy and Solutions, Epsilon
- Meghan Weber ’07 (History), Senior Space Product Manager, Amazon Web Services
- Chris Hench ’11 (German Literature and Economics), Senior Applied Scientist ML/NLP, Amazon Alexa.
- Elizabeth Knox ’17 (Computer Science and Economics), Digital Specialist, McKinsey & Company
- John Bowllan ’19 (Math), Data Science Technical Lead, Whoop
Panel Host: Jeff Sawyer, CCI Director of Employer & Professional Network Development
Video: 64 minutes
The content segments below indicate the approximate time marks in the recording during which the specific content is discussed. The segments include:
- At 8:50 – Tell us what’s going on in the tech industry today. Back to Office, Hiring
- At 27:20 – Given the state of the industry, what should I do to prepare myself? “Quality over Quantity”
- At 35:30 – What are future growth areas? AI/ML, Quantum Computing, NLP, AR/VR, Clean Tech, Biopharma, Bioinformatics
- At 46:20 – Which roles do you expect to see in demand? ML-related Software Engineering, Design, Dev Ops, Data Science, Policy-related, Product Managers
- At 50:15 – Audience Q&A. Pros/cons of working for a large firm vs start-up; How to demonstrate ability to grow; Should graduate school be in my future?
Check out the recorded Leaders in Technology Discuss the Future panel with Jennifer Bailey ’84, Suzie Reider ’87, and Lan Ye ’98 in the next MIDDVantage: Exploring Careers in Technology’s New Frontiers episode.
Guest Speakers:
- Jennifer Bailey ’84, Vice President Internet Services, Apple
- Suzie Reider ’87, Managing Director B2G Marketing and Partnerships, Google
- Lan Ye ’98, Vice President Teams Group, Microsoft
Interviewers:
- Katie Macalintal ‘24
- Lindsey Schweitzer ‘24
Video: 54 minutes
The content segments below indicate the approximate time marks in the recording during which the specific content is discussed. The segments include:
- At 3:53 – “Tell us about your organization.”
- At 6:50 – “Tell us about the technology industry job market prospects.”
- At 12:45 – “Tell us about the growth areas for the future.”
- At 20:02 – “Tell us about data privacy efforts in the industry.”
- At 27:38 – “Tell us how students should prepare for tech’s future.”
- At 34:57 – “Audience Q&A”
Jennifer Bailey ’84 – Jennifer Bailey is the Vice President of Internet Services at Apple. She leads global teams across Apple’s Payment and Commerce services, including Apple Pay, Apple Wallet, Apple Card, Apple Cash and Apple Gift Cards. Jennifer oversaw the launch of Apple Pay in 2014, led the launch and expansion of Apple Wallet, and oversaw the introduction of Apple Card in 2019. She was also named one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business in 2018. Prior to her current role with Apple, Jennifer spent 11 years leading the company’s global online stores. She received her MBA from MIT’s Sloan School of Management and Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from Middlebury College.
Suzie Reider ’87 – Suzie is Managing Director B2G Marketing and Partnerships, Google. In 2006, Suzie joined YouTube as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). When YouTube was acquired by Google she guided the organization into Google and then ran the team that built the first Billion in video advertising revenue. Over the past 15 years at Google, she has worked on global video strategy roles, running a performance sales team (Adwords) and commercialization and product strategy roles. In the Winter of 2017 Suzie transitioned to Waze with P&L responsibility for the Global Business Organization. She serves on the board of Goldieblox a content company focused on STEM for girls and is an advisor for Reddit and Frameplay. In 2019 she earned her executive leadership coaching certification through the Hudson Institute, moonlights as a coach to Senior Executives at several Bay Area companies, and is currently a Trustee of Middlebury College.
Lan Ye ’98 – As the Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Teams Calling, Meeting and Devices group, Lan leads a team of passionate program managers and engineers who are obsessed with making calling and meetings simpler, more inclusive, and more effective. Lan joined Microsoft out of college and worked on a wide range of consumer and enterprise products including Windows Media, Digital Rights Management, Zune, Windows Phone, mobile gaming, Skype, Lync, and incubation projects. In recent years, she has led the convergence and transformation of Microsoft’s Unified Communication strategy from Skype for Business to Microsoft Teams. Lan has found it to be thrilling to work on a wide range of consumer and enterprise products across Microsoft in the last 20 years.
Hear from Yina Smith-Danenhower ’09 about conversational design enabling chatbot solutions in this week’s MIDDVantage: Careers in Creative Design Episode.
We invite you to watch the sixth and final episode of our Exploring Careers in Creative Design series.
Yina Smith-Danenhower ‘09, Head of Product Design, XAPP AI. Since her years at Middlebury, Yina has been a dancer/choreographer, an architectural designer, UX designer, and now a conversational designer at XAPP AI where she directs a creative review process to ensure coherency with design principles and the design language system through contribution and collaboration with the team. After graduating from Middlebury with a degree in Dance and International Studies, she applied her academic preparations as an independent dance choreographer and performer for three years in New York City. Yina subsequently pursued a Masters in Architecture at the Harvard University School of Design, and after graduating, worked as a Senior Architectural Assistant with LWK & Partners Ltd. in Hong Kong. She ultimately determined that UX/UI design and more specifically voice/conversation design was the place to bring her design interests and accelerating technological innovation together in her current role.
About the Creative Design series: Design is absolutely everywhere—from the clothes we wear to the apps we use; from the cars we drive to the chairs we sit on. As a designer, you have the power to shape the world in which we live. The global market for design services is expected to be nearly $250 billion by 2022. This series includes interviews with many professionals who will share their vantage points on how they use creative design in their career roles, their paths from campus to career, and career advice they would have for students interested in this career space.
Exploring Careers in Creative Design is a collaborative series developed by the Center for Careers and Internships and Middlebury in DC with content contributions from members of the Middlebury Professional Network and Middlebury students.
Work in Vermont. Lose Some of Your Student Loans.
The State of Vermont, in collaboration with the University of Vermont and the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC), is offering a $5000 loan repayment program to incentivize and retain new graduates from Vermont colleges and universities. Any graduate during the spring 2023 academic year with a Bachelor of Science and/or Bachelor of Arts can apply. Recipients will be selected on a first-come, first-served basis based on regional, employer, and institutional distribution criteria, as long as funding is available. Applicants must submit proof of employment when applying. Employment will be verified with the Vermont-based employer at two points: after one year of employment and after the second year of employment.
What are you doing this summer? If your plans involve an internship, CCI can help you find one and even fund an unpaid internship.
Handshake has almost 5000 paid and unpaid internships in all interest areas.
More internships and info on CCI’s Career Path Pages (see News and Top Resources tabs).
Check out Internships reserved for Middlebury students (many expiring March 1).
Some highlighted internships include:
- Marine Conservation in The Bahamas (expires Feb. 28!)
- Fellowship in Nonproliferation Studies (expires Feb. 28!)
- Empathetics (great for Psych majors)
- and lots of MiddWorks for Vermont internships.
Visit CCI’s Find an Internship page for tips on finding or creating internships.
View the recorded Find and Fund Your Summer Internship information session.
Visit go/SummerFunding to apply for funding for an unpaid summer internship. Must have an internship secured before applying for funding. Deadline: April 7!
Spend the summer making a difference in Vermont with MiddWorks for Vermont and Vermont Innovation Summer! Learn more at our info session Wednesday, March 1st
Don’t miss a chance to make an impact in Vermont this summer AND also experience farmers’ markets, hikes, swimming holes, outdoor cafes, music festivals, sunsets on the lake, and warm, sunny weather!
- 40 MiddWorks for Vermont and Vermont Innovation Summer internships in Handshake.
- $4,000 summer internship funding award.
- Every sector: start-ups, business, education, health care, social justice, arts and culture, and the environment.
- Middlebury and Burlington housing available.
Sound too good to be true? It’s not! Join CCI and the Innovation Hub on Wednesday, March 1st at 7:00 pm in Coltrane Lounge for an Info Session with KEVIN CHU ’14, Executive Director of the Vermont Futures Project. Kevin will be joined by summer 2022 Vermont interns who will be sharing their experiences from last summer.
Get in the mood for Vermont summer with coupons for FREE Shiretown creemees for info session attendees!
Michelle Roman ’17, Senior Manager of Analytics at uAspire talks about data analytics in a non-profit environment in this week’s MIDDVantage: Careers in Data Analytics episode.
Watch the latest MIDDVantage episode below:
Exploring Careers in Data Analytics is a collaborative series developed by the Center for Careers and Internships and Middlebury in DC with content contributions from members of the Middlebury Professional Network and Middlebury students.
Data analytics is broken down into four basic types. Descriptive analytics describes what has happened over a given period. Diagnostic analytics focuses more on why something happened and predictive analytics moves to what is likely going to happen in the near term. Finally, prescriptive analytics suggests a course of action. Market watchers project the number of jobs for data professionals in the U.S will increase to over 3 million by 2022. This series includes interviews with many professionals who will share their vantage points on how they use data analytics in their career roles, their paths from campus to career, and career advice they would have for students interested in this career space.
How to Ace your Graduate School Application Essay
Webinar: How to Ace Your Graduate School Application Essay
Date: Thursday, January 19 at 7:00 p.m. Eastern
Host: Middlebury Institute of International Studies
Sign up: https://learn.middlebury.edu/onlinediscussions (everyone who signs up will receive a recording)
Who should attend: anyone interested in a master’s program
Our admissions directors will guide attendees through overcoming the blank page, avoiding resume repetition, and turning the challenge into an opportunity to showcase how the program aligns with their goals.