Alumni/ae & Careers

Using Drexel University as a launching pad to their careers, Drexel alumni/ae have gone on to become leaders in all aspects of computing — whether in industry, government, and academia. The profiles below highlight just a few of the many successful alumni/ae that got their start by majoring in computing at Drexel.

• Profile: Irina Dymarsky

  As technology continues to advance and spread, the question facing organizations and even individuals is changing from “Do we need new technologies?” to “How do we best use new technologies?”  Irina Dymarsky, who completed her accelerated bachelor’s/master’s in Information Systems in 2006, is one of many versatile iSchool alums in the growing class of technology workers who have both the technical knowledge and the business savvy to lead companies in their use of technology.  Before she even finished school, Johnson & Johnson (J&J) had hired Irina for their “fast-track to management” – the Information Technology Leadership Development Program.  The program rotates exceptional new graduates through three 8-month postings in different functional aspects of the company – business, technology and project management – to help prepare prospective corporate leaders for management positions.  Currently, she’s on her “technology” rotation, providing IT support for Independence Technology, L.L.C., which markets the INDEPENDENCE® iBOT® 4000 Mobility System, a surprising improvement on the wheelchair that can climb steps and stairs, cross uneven terrain such as grass, gravel and sand, and raise the rider to standing eye level by balancing on two wheels.

• Profile: Onuora Amobi

  Onuora Amobi, an MIS major, worked as an intern at Glaxo SmithKline and at the MIS department of the Philadelphia International Airport. The on the job IT exposure and training on both of those jobs was instrumental in preparing Onuora for a future career in Management Consulting. "There is no doubt in my mind that the Coop program is one of the reasons top tier employers prefer to hire Drexel graduates. In the marketplace today, the more experience you have when you begin your job search, the better. Employers know that  Drexel graduates are able to hit the ground running and are already familiar with a professional work environment." Onuora has gone on to work for some of the most prominent IT companies (Deloitte, EDS, VERITAS, Corio inc. among others) and is currently a senior IT manager at Warner Brothers in Burbank, California.

• Profile: Vera Zaychik

  Vera Zaychik began her research career in Drexel's Department of Computer Science, where she collaborated with Dr. William Regli on a collaborative email application and knowledge extraction tool. After graduating from Drexel in 1999, she received a summer internship at AT&T Labs in San Jose, CA, and soon continued at Drexel with a National Science Foundation research fellowship. Upon completing her graduate degree, Vera began work at Lockheed Martin's Advanced Technology Laboratories and was quickly promoted to senior engineer in 2005. She now works as a principal investigator on contracts with DARPA and the Navy, and participates in business development and internal research. "The unique thing about working in an applied research lab like ATL is that we do something new every day and our task assignments are varied not only from the technical perspective, but also from the perspective of required skills: we invent, design, and implement new software systems, research hard problems, publish at, attend, and present at conferences and workshops, write proposals and white papers, lead diverse teams of people, and travel all over the country and sometimes abroad." And Drexel set the stage for this work: "I would say that it gave me a unique mixture of practical, research, and teaching experience, all of which positioned me for my current applied research job very well."

• Profile: The Business of Success

  The number of Internet users increased from 16 million in 1995 to about 1.1 billion in 2006, creating an energetic new market with abundant opportunities.  iSchool alumni Steve Melick seized his opportunity.  Co-founder, former President and CEO of The Sycamore Group, Steve led the Philadelphia area company to an average annual growth of over 300 percent from 1996 to its sale in 2006.  In 2001, Steve was a finalist for the Greater Philadelphia Entrepreneur of the Year award and named as one of the Eastern Technology Council’s top CEOs Under Age 40.  For several years, Sycamore was listed among Philadelphia’s 100 fastest growing companies and consistently ranked by the Philadelphia Business Journal as one of the area’s largest systems integrators.  Steve believes the foundation the iSchool provided helped launch his successful entrepreneurial career.  “What you learn are the fundamentals of how to operate in a business environment…you’re getting practical, real-world preparation.”  Read more about Steve here.

• Profile: Onuora Nanya Ugbode

  Onuora Nanya Ugbode, an MIS Major, got to work through the co-op program with IBM Global Services and Smithkline Beecham. The exposure to the professional work environment and on-the-job IT were instrumental in shaping his future career in Management Consulting. Over the last eight years since graduating from Drexel, Nanya has worked with the top Management Consulting firms like Accenture, Deloitte and IBM BCS on a wide array of client projects. He is currently a Senior Consultant at Accenture in Philadelphia, PA.

   

• Profile: Lisa Anthony

  Lisa Anthony, a Computer Science graduate, is now a doctoral student at the Human Computer Interaction Institute (HCII) at Carnegie Mellon University. As a Drexel undergraduate, Lisa's primary research project with Dr. William Regli involved creating computer-aided conceptual design tools for engineers. She continued at Drexel for her M.S. work and explored using genetic programming to evolve board evaluation functions for computer agent players of the strategy game Acquire. In her years in the doctoral program at CMU, Lisa is researching handwriting-based interfaces for intelligent tutoring systems for algebra equation-solving -- integrating multimodal technologies into cohesive, natural user interfaces for people using computers in a variety of tasks and environments. Lisa has received a number of awards for her outstanding work, including the National Outstanding Undergraduate Award from the Computing Research Association (CRA) and the Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation (NSF). "My experience at Drexel with undergraduate research directly led me to the path I'm on today. Because of that initial exposure to the world of research, and thoughtful encouragement from Dr. Regli, I entered graduate school and have spent the last few years exploring the cutting edge of new technologies and methods for studying them in real-world use. I feel like I am now in a position to help people via the advancement of technology in their daily lives, and that this is all due to Drexel's impact on my education and experience."

• Profile: Frank Jacquette

  Frank Jacquette, a Computer Science graduate, is the President and CEO of Jacquette Consulting, an information technology services company that specializes in developing innovative software applications in scientific and high-technology settings.  Since the company was founded in 2000 it has been recognized four times as one of the 100 fastest growing companies in the Philadelphia area and was #9 on Main Line Today’s “Best Places to Work” list in 2006.  As an undergraduate Frank led the university’s ACM programming team to victory in the Atlantic Division and on to international competition.  Since graduating he has supported the department’s James B. Maginnis Award, worked with the Baida Center for Entrepreneurship to mentor Drexel entrepreneurs, and has delivered guest lectures for the LeBow College of Business.  Most recently, Frank has served as a judge for the College of Engineering’s senior design competition.