Antonio
Cornell Tech, May 2022
M.S. Information Systems and Applied Information Science
Purdue University, May 2019
B.S Computer Engineering
What are you passionate about?
I am passionate about how people perceive and interact with technology. In recent years, people have become increasingly aware and afraid of the invasion of privacy to the point where people are losing sight of all the good the has come from technology. While there are troubling news on the matter, I believe the cons of technology are less but louder and want to be an advocate for promoting the innovation and benefits it provides to all its users.
What’s the coolest thing you’re working on right now?
I recently wrapped up my Specialization Project in my graduate studies in which I was leveraging Mixed Reality technologies to help stroke patients with the upper-limb motor and cognitive rehabilitation. Based on literature review, I developed a Virtual Reality (VR) experience on the Oculus Quest, using Unity, which simulates a typical yet motor exercise requiring repetitive arm movement. The VR environment allowed me to make this exercise both engaging and cognitively challenging by adding elements that are hard to implement physically in the real world.
How will this internship/job help to advance your career?
I’ve always wanted to be taken seriously as a professional ever since I decided to be an engineer. As a student, that’s always felt hard because I have not had a full-time job. After my Software Development internship at ManTech, I’ve felt confident in my ability to reach that goal early on once I graduate. Moreover, ManTech being such a prominent company in the government contractor industry, joining the company as a full-time CNO Developer will push me further towards the professionalism I strive for.
What do you like most about ManTech?
ManTech’s company culture is what I like the most about the company. During my internship, I was able to work independently on my project and had the flexibility to make critical decisions if I thought the outcome of my solution would be better. My supervisor was always supportive and helpful throughout the internship and trusted me from the beginning to spearhead the project. Furthermore, as an intern, I had a mentor who provided amazing support through the internship and gave me incredible insights about the company culture.
What do you hope to accomplish within the next 10 years?
In the next 10 years, I want to grow as much as I can within ManTech in different technical roles and eventually switch into a more business-oriented roles. My ideal career path has always been to develop my engineering skills to the point where I feel comfortable enough to switch to something like a Product/Project Manager role so that I can facilitate the communication and interaction between the business and engineering teams of a project.
What advice do you have for someone thinking of interning/working at ManTech?
100% recommend working for ManTech. The internship alone gave me a boost of confidence in my skills and what I want to do with my career. Other full-time employees told me they experienced the same thing and feel supported at all times whether they want to remain in the type of work they’re doing or if they want to switch. ManTech provides a great deal of resources to all employees so that they can transition to whatever role they want. ManTech looks to place employees in roles in which they feel most confident they can contribute the most to the company.
One word to describe your time at ManTech so far?
Exciting!