Karan Kapoor

What have you been doing since you left Bucknell?

I currently work for General Electric in their Information Management Leadership Program. At GE, I have had the opportunity to apply my CS degree by managing budgets over $100k for various program implementations, designing databases, creating web portals, and testing ERP systems.(The waterfall model they always discuss in the beginning of each CS book - it's actually somewhat useful.)

Why did you choose to major in CS?

While growing up I had a major addiction to video games. I turned this addiction into something productive in fifth grade by programming my own text based games in QBasic. In high school I went on to take classes in Java and C++ and I became more passionate about programming. Computer Science fell in place with my career aspirations and hobbies so it was a perfect fit for my major.

What was particularly good for you in studying CS at Bucknell?

The professors always being available to me really helped out throughout my four years of college. One time freshmen year, I spent so many hours at a professor's office that he told me to bring a toothbrush next time. The professors never hesitated to help me, nor did they get annoyed with my constant, long help sessions.

What did you most like about Bucknell?

I have to say what really makes a place is the people. Graduating from Bucknell, I not only have contacts in various businesses, but I also have best friends that I hope to be in touch with for the rest of my life. The people at Bucknell are what really made my college experience so memorable.

How did the education you receive at Bucknell prepare you for your current activity?

Bucknell's CS program makes you work on problems faced in the real world - this gave me an edge over other candidates. Courses like senior design, databases, and security, along with many other CS courses, prepared me well for my current job. At Bucknell, I may not have been the strongest programmer, but at as soon as I joined GE, I was seen as the strongest IT person on my team for our first assignment (creating a web store.) There were a few other Bucknell graduates in the program and I noticed that each Bucknell alumnus was the respective IT leader for their specific group. So beware if you go to Bucknell, you will have to actually work in your real job since you will know what to do!