Mehmet graduated with a degree in business administration and has 15 years of work experience in various sectors. He has been interested in technology and software development since using C64 in the mid-90s, but had not been able to pursue tech as a career until now.
Liam is a junior software engineer who went to Radford University and graduated with a degree in Computer Science. Liam is excited about participating in this program because he thinks it’ll be a great experience to work with people who are experts in the industry. He is eager to learn new skills and apply the skills he has gained throughout his career. Liam used to work in food service at a movie theater and as a cashier, but his passion lies in software development and working with computers. Liam’s dream job is to work at Google.
Zaya has a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Mongolia. After relocating to the U.S., she took a break from her IT career to focus on raising her three children. She is enthusiastic about embracing new challenges and pursuing opportunities to reignite her passion for technology and innovation.
Mason is a self-taught junior developer formerly employed as a waiter. Mason moved to Arlington from Arkansas in the fall of 2022 and fell in love with the area. In his free time Mason enjoys bodybuilding, spending time with his girlfriend and pet bunnies, and being absorbed in “all things nerdy.”
Joshua Fay is a senior at George Mason University achieving his Bachelor of Computer Science. After his brief time as a programming tutor, he is incredibly excited to get firsthand, guided experience in the field he is studying. While not at work or on campus, Josh is normally preparing for the weekly TTRPG game he hosts. His dream job would be a management position for a software development team, where he can use the leadership skills he has learned from army ROTC to keep projects organized and support his team.
Sydney is a recent graduate of the University of San Francisco with a Bachelors Degree in computer science and environmental studies. In her free time, Sydney enjoys reading, crocheting, biking, and gardening. In the future, she would like to work as a software engineer, ideally in a position that relates to the environment.
Stephanie has previously worked as a flight attendant and is eager to start her journey to becoming a software engineer. In her free time, she loves to read, build legos, play with her dogs, and salsa dance.
Anna is a computer science student at the University of Virginia taking time off to get real tech experience. Anna has a passion for learning and helping people, and is eager to solve real-world problems and learn from professionals. In their spare time, Anna enjoys creative endeavors like drawing and game development.
Sam is a software engineer who excels at learning new technologies with two years of professional experience building web applications with cloud services and APIs. Previously, he worked in customer service and sales for ten years. He is proud of his communication, teamwork, and people skills.
Grace Spradlin is a rising senior at Virginia Tech majoring in computer science.Grace enjoys working with others and solving problems, so she believes sheis a great fit for Exelaration.In her free time,she enjoys driving, traveling, playing video games, reading, and hanging out with her friends.Graceis still determining exactly what she would like to do after she graduates, butenjoysweb and video game development.
Brian is a freshman studying computer science at Northern Virginia Community College. He is excited to help find creative solutions to clients’ complex problems and experience the tangible impact his work has throughout the program. In the past, Brian has taught programming & technical concepts as an after-school instructor to K–12 students at various schools in the Northern Virginia region. He also worked in customer service roles. Brian’s dream job is to work in a software engineer role for Amazon in Crystal City.
FEATURED ALUMNI
Katheryn Rizek, Class of ’20
Katheryn studied Industrial and Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech. Here, she learned the importance of process improvement, which she could then apply to Agile principles when joining Exelaration. Katheryn joined Exelaration the summer after her sophomore year and stayed through graduation.
She learned much about full-stack software development and Agile methodologies and got to work on projects with private companies, the federal government, and non-profits. The projects utilized technologies ranging from JavaScript, Java, Ruby, and Python. Today, Katheryn is a Senior Consultant with Excella where she is supporting the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau with their software for responding to consumer complaints about financial institutions.
“Exelaration opened me up to a career in software development that I never thought I could achieve. I had previously taken a computer science class in college with hundreds of other students and finished the course thinking a career in tech was not for me. Then, I joined Exelaration and quickly learned key software development principles through their supportive, hands-on teaching style.”
