Girls Who Code Alum DeMatos Completes NJIT Degree, Lands Job at Facebook

Just about everyone in college has a Facebook account, uses their Instagram service, or knows someone who does, but Ying Wu College of Computing new graduate Catarina DeMatos is going to work there.

DeMatos, of Chatham, first interned at Facebook as a rising junior in summer 2019, so she had an inroad to becoming an employee upon graduation this month with a B.S. in computer science.

Before moving to Silicon Valley, she has business to handle here in the Garden State. DeMatos delayed her employment starting date until December. "I did a summer program here [at NJIT] called Girls Who Code before my sophomore year of high school," she explained. "Before I go to Facebook, I'll be teaching in that same program." She also wants to travel before starting work, if time and the worldwide COVID situation allows.

In her previous stint at the Menlo Park, Calif.-based social networking giant, DeMatos learned about the full range of how to build large-scale software from its database connections to its user interfaces. "I learned new frameworks and languages across the tech stack like SQL, Hack, GraphQL and React JS. While I had experience with data analysis and front end design through my time at NJIT, my internship taught me how to combine and apply all the coursework into a single product," she said.

After her internship experience, "It became very clear there would be a path to full-time if I kept doing very well. I thought about applying to other places. I felt secure already at Facebook. It was a fun place to be and I'd be able to learn a lot there," DeMatos explained.

"I don't know exactly what I'll be doing. At the beginning you go through a bootcamp. I think I would like to work on either the Facebook or Instagram app and something to do with how they work with businesses," she said. "I've always been interested in entrepreneurship. I started an entrepreneurship minor but never completed it. I like being the boss."

"When you're doing well you can ask for opportunities," she noted. "You don't have to wait for them to come to you."

DeMatos showed business smarts early, choosing to attend NJIT ahead of other prominent technology schools because it was the most affordable. Her only regret is not participating more in research. "It's the one thing that I wish I did explore," she said. She could have had another Facebook angle, as many NJIT programs support researchers that use virtual reality headsets from Facebook-owned Oculus. There are also efforts by Ying Wu College of Computing to recruit and retain greater numbers of women into computing degree programs. 

DeMatos made equally productive use of her Highlander time outside of class. In addition to her Facebook internship — for which she later acknowledged that she felt intimidated when applying — she participated in hackathons, attended multicultural events, worked as a teaching assistant for the CS-100 Roadmap to Computing course and worked in the Ying Wu advising office. She also worked in the Greek Village complex as a resident adviser for the Alpha Sigma Tau sorority. She wasn't a member, but said she felt kinship as the sorority supported Girls Who Code events.

That fits into her philosophy to seek opportunities at every turn in life. "My advice would be to try and be recognized for your accomplishments," DeMatos said. "If you get an 'A' in a class, even if it was just an introductory class, you could go to the professor and ask if they need a teaching assistant for the next semester. If the professor is an adjunct, ask if their job is hiring any interns, or are they doing any research."

"When you're doing well you can ask for opportunities," she noted. "You don't have to wait for them to come to you."