The Paul G. Allen School Alumni Career Experience (ACE) Seminar, CSE 492L, is a one-credit (CR/NC) seminar series, primarily targeted at upper-division Allen School undergraduates, that brings Allen School alums to campus. Each week, we will host a recent Allen School alum who will discuss the things they learned in the first few years after graduation that they wish someone had told them beforehand.
Our guests will discuss topics such as:
What do you need to know in order to succeed that you don't learn in your classes or during an internship?
How do you position yourself to work on interesting projects?
How do you find paths after graduation where you continue to grow, learn, and succeed?
In a large company, what strategies can make you influential, vs. a cog in a wheel?
What is life like in a smaller company?
Why might you choose graduate school vs. tech industry employment after graduation?
How can you pursue less-common career paths?
Think of these presentations as "postcards from your future" - our guests were you just a few years ago! And perhaps you'll be presenting a few years from now!
These should be fun, informative, interactive sessions. This seminar has been very well received in previous years. But it's up to you - you need to make it interactive!
Tuesdays, 1:30-2:20PM, Bill & Melinda Gates Center G01
Instructor: Dan Grossman, djg@cs.washington.edu
Email list (make sure you receive messages to it): cse492l_wi26@uw.edu (https://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/cse492l_wi26)
Canvas (but nothing is there beyond tracking your participation): https://canvas.uw.edu/courses/1864374
Coming soon -- we have most of our speakers confirmed but we're juggling their data preferences!
Some guests may have slides, some not -- we will post here anything they can share (UW NetID required)
January 6, panel of recent alums:
Prita Ahya: Bellevue College AS Computer Engineering 2020, BS Computer Science 2022, Cisco -> Amazon
Sarah Chen: BS Computer Science, Data Science Option 2025, Stripe
James Froelich: Bellevue College AS 2021, BS Computer Engineering 2023, Carbon Robotics
Ayan Gupta: BS Computer Engineering 2024, Microsoft
January 13: Jennifer Kang: BS Computer Engineering and Informatics 2016, Microsoft -> Ironclad
January 20: John Barcellos: BS Computer Science 2019, Docusign
January 27: Amanda (Chalfant) Anderson: BS Computer Science 2018, Microsoft
February 3: Ben Eggers: BS Computer Science and Mathematics, 2016, Google -> Stripe -> Chroma -> OpenAI
February 10: Lucy Jiang: BS Computer Science 2022, MS Cornell 2024, PhD student UW HCDE
February 17: Aaron Johnston: BS Computer Science 2018, MS Computer Science 2020, Qualtrics -> Meta
February 24: Hannah Werbel: BS Computer Science 2019, Meta
March 3: [waiting for final confirmation]
March 10: [waiting for final confirmation]
Here is what it means to participate each week:
Spend a few minutes before class researching the speaker (see the schedule above)
Arrive on time -- it's rude to our guests to be late
Listen and participate
On an index card we'll hand out, write your name and the most interesting thing you heard
Hand in the index card to Dan or Kay on your way out. You must hand in your own card.
We expect you to participate every week. If you need to miss more than two presentations, reach out to the instructor or you may not receive credit.
That said, this class is an invaluable opportunity that is not really about the one credit -- participating is valuable for the wisdom not the credit.
Allen School External Relations Director Kay Beck-Benton is invaluable in identifying, organizing, and scheduling speakers.
This seminar has a proud history and has been offered every year since 2011. It was led for many years by now-emeritus professor Ed Lazowska and then co-led by Ed and Dan.