Computing Alumna from Vietnam, Now at Google, Credits Perseverance

NJIT computer science alumna Hang Nguyen, the first in her family to attend college, started her full-time career as a Google software engineer based on her ability to quickly absorb new skills.

Nguyen grew up in central Vietnam, learned English and the outdated Pascal programming language in a school for gifted children, and ultimately chose to pursue her dream of not only obtaining a college degree but doing so in the United States.

Online research led her to NJIT as an ideal location for rigorous courses, return on investment and a track record of placing computer science students in good jobs from Wall Street to Silicon Valley.

Nguyen explained that she transitioned from international undergraduate to Google developer by jumping on opportunities whenever they came and bearing down when obstacles arose. Her decisions to study computer science in college, and her job application to Google, were both last-minute opportunities for which she didn't procrastinate. Early NJIT courses such as CS-100 Roadmap to Computing and CS-113 Introduction to Computer Science 1 were difficult at first, but she caught on to the former and said the latter ignited her passion for the field.

"Since then, I was intrigued in learning how computers think, that is different from how humans think. It was gradual for me," Nguyen said.

She's had the same experience at Google, where she works on a graphics/video-processing team for ChromeOS and often draws on the determination that she gained as a Highlander.

"So far it's been great. The learning curve is huge. Even during the team match call, I made it clear to my manager that I don't have any experience in regards to video processing and graphics. I was taken aback that he wanted me."

"I think the reasons why they chose me are that I demonstrated my ability as a quick learner and that I am extremely interested in learning about video processing," she continued. "I also told my manager that prior to my [sophomore year] internship at Facebook, I did not have the relevant experience either, but I was able to catch on and finish my project successfully … It turned out that while I was talking to the team, there are a few people who started out just like I did."

Nguyen cited professors Junilda Spirollari, Adrian Ionescu and the late Gerald Ryan for motivating her. She became a teaching assistant, mathematics tutor and executive board member of NJIT's Women In Computing Society. She also made important connections from attending the annual Grace Hopper Celebration and meeting other Vietnamese computer scientists through social media.

Nguyen advises first-year international students to follow her lead. "Go out there and take as many opportunities as you can, but also make the most out of the experience you have at NJIT," she noted. "Even though NJIT is a small school, a lot of opportunities I got were from the aspect of it being close-knit."

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