Reflections from the Class of 2019

Meet the 2019 gonfalon carriers! The six seniors chosen to represent their schools at NJIT's Commencement reminisce about life on campus, while they begin to envisage what lies beyond.

Newark College of Engineering

Olivia Hadlaw

Major: Electrical Engineering with a minor in Applied Mathematics

Hometown: South Amboy, N.J.

Next up: Design and analysis engineer in the Boeing Company’s Space and Security unit in St. Louis

“I’m interested in sensors. For my senior project, I worked with two friends to design a device called the BackTrack, which tracks a person’s posture trends over time. It’s essentially a shirt with a sensor that is calibrated to identify what is poor posture for individual wearers, alerts the user by vibrating, and collects data throughout the day. There are millions of lost work days every year due to bad posture! At Boeing, I'll be working with sensor fusion on some airplanes. I never saw myself moving to the Midwest, but I've had wonderful experiences with people I've met from there, both at the Society of Women Engineers conference (I was the NJIT Chapter President) and on my visits to their facilities.”

College of Architecture and Design

Cassidy Lavine

Major: Industrial Design

Hometown: Newton, N.J.

Next up: Graphic design intern for Ralph Appelbaum Associates in New York City

“I worked for Ralph Appelbaum Associates this past semester on graphic designs for international exhibition spaces, and I’m continuing this summer. It's an exciting place. The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and the National Museum of African American History and Culture are two of their past projects. But I’m still deciding what aspect of design I’m most interested in. I do know what environments I like – where people are working on five projects at once. It really sparks creativity. Working as editor-in-chief of The Vector newspaper was a case in point. I came from the graphics and layout side and thought it was important to have a visually interesting cover that people would want to pick up. This was instrumental in our efforts of building a larger campus following."

College of Science and Liberal Arts

Daniel Daudelin

Major: Biology

Hometown: Hackettstown, N.J.

Next up: Doctoral student in neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University

“I’ve always been interested in the brain, and began researching the nervous system of crabs with Professor Jorge Golowasch the summer of my junior year in high school. One of my focuses is plasticity in the nervous system, meaning the adaptations that occur in response to changes in the body and the environment. One example is how the brain develops in a child with visual deprivation at an early age. At Johns Hopkins, I’ll be doing a rotation studying Alzheimer’s. Of all diseases, this one changes the person most, and we’re still looking for ways to prevent it. It will be a little sad leaving, however. I’ve worked with Professor Golowasch for so many years.”

Ying Wu College of Computing:

Sneha Nambiar

Major: Business and Information Systems

Hometown: West Windsor, N.J.

Next up: Technology risk consultant at Ernst & Young in New York City

“I started out as a computer science major, and then switched to business information systems, where I specialized in data analytics. For me, it was the perfect blend of information technology and more hands-on business study. As a technology risk consultant at Ernst & Young, I will analyze the risks that come along with implementing new technology-based systems – examining the third-party risk management protocols that are in place and making sure no security or data breaches take place. There are so many risks for companies – you read about them all the time. I’ll be in a three-year development program, where I’ll be exposed to a variety of industries. Working for one of the Big Four accounting firms is like a mini MBA.”

Albert Dorman Honors College

Raiha Khan

Major: Mathematical Sciences

Hometown: Lyndhurst, N.J.

Next up: Data scientist at Prudential in Roseland

“I began at NJIT as double major in computer science and math, but decided to switch to math with concentrations in applied statistics and data analysis. Data science excites me because it can be applied to large-scale problems in a variety of fields -- from medicine to fashion -- to predict the future outcome of anything, whether it’s the financial profits of a company project or the expected life span of a patient. In the NBA Hackathon last September, my team used statistics to determine seasonal ticket prices for various teams. We finished in second place in the final ten. It’s been very encouraging to be part of a community of women at NJIT – in the club Women in Computing Society and with Girls Who Code. Going to the Grace Hopper Conference each year made me realize I’m actually part of a much bigger network of women.”

Martin Tuchman School of Management

Shravanthi Budhi

Majors: Business with a concentration in finance

Hometown: Edison

Next up: Business analyst intern at Avanade Inc.

“I have focused a great deal on professional development for myself, as well as my peers, for the past three years. I had the incredible opportunity to develop and cultivate the Salesforce Student Group (Ambassador Program) to bring students and industry representatives together for career panels, information sessions and networking opportunities. Additionally, I was a founding brother of the Chi Zeta chapter of Alpha Kappa Psi, a professional business fraternity for people from all majors. As the first woman in my family to earn a college degree, I’m truly grateful to have received an Avanade scholarship from the tech consulting company, Avanade. I’m interested in business and technology, and I’m excited to see what’s in store for me in the coming years. I’ll be interning as a business analyst intern at Avanade this summer and plan to pursue a master’s degree in business analytics at NJIT within the next year.