Rohan Nihalani || Career

DEDA Academy Narrative

The Dublin Engineering Design Academy, or DEDA, is an exclusive program that helps Dublin High School students become engineers. The academy features two pathways, one for computer science and one for engineering. All the courses in this program are hands-on and promote learning different skills that will be highly beneficial in a STEM major. The DEDA program includes 60 people per class, all hand-picked based on an application. Out of over 100 applicants, I was selected for the computer science pathway. Some benefits of being in the academy include access to courses, job and internship opportunities, exclusive engineering field trips, guest speakers, and a mentorship program that academy students complete in their junior year. Throughout this narrative, I will discuss what I have gathered from different guest speakers, my work experience, and the courses that further hone my computer science and engineering skills.

In my first semester of sophomore year, I was lucky to attend two guest speakers who helped me learn what career I would be interested in. The first of those guest speakers was Gary Richter, a government security analyst. Listening to him talk helped me learn about the actual excitement of some of these seemingly dull engineering jobs. He got to travel the world identifying possible threats. A job like this seemed very exciting but was meant for someone else. Overall, this talk helped me realize that a job like this would be too crazy and overwhelming for me. A job a little toned down is what I want to pursue. The second guest speaker I attended was Donald James from NASA. I connected more with this, and I would be interested in it. The most important thing that stood out to me during the talk was how, just by working at a company like NASA, he was able to make an impact on so many people. Something like this is much more exciting and helped me learn more about what it means to work at a place like NASA.

Throughout my junior year, I was privileged to participate in the mentorship program. The mentorship program is an exclusive program reserved for those in the engineering academy that provides career and college application preparatory skills. Additionally, the program pairs each student with a mentor who gives them career advice. With my mentor, I gained experience in interviewing, networking, and many other relevant career skills that have prepared me for my future.

Lastly, I have taken four central computer science and engineering courses. In my first year of high school, I took Computer Science Essentials or CSE. This class helped me learn the basic concepts of programming and dive further into Python and HTML/CSS, which I used to code this website. Aside from programming, this course taught me different methods to do projects; the most prominent I learned was doing a technique called sprints. Documentation is also a vital part of a programming project, and this helped me gain a base knowledge of the structure and format in which documentation should generally be. The second course I am currently enrolled in is Principles of Engineering or POE. In the first semester, we focused mainly on physical building and engineering while veering more toward coding at the end of the semester. This class has taught me the necessary skills that an engineer needs to succeed; the most important is keeping an engineering notebook. This notebook must be signed and dated every day to ensure and have proof that I do the work on the correct date. In my junior year, I took AP Computer Science Principles. This class has taught me the use of algorithms and procedures in Python and lightly covered cybersecurity, the internet, and data. Finally, in my senior year, I have been taking AP Computer Science A. In this class, I developed my skills in a newer language, Java. I have learned both the fundamentals and gone in-depth into some of the features of Java, such as web scraping.

These experiences have helped me grow into what I am today. I plan to continue learning and growing, and look forward to the future!

Field Trips

Chevron Career Day(2022)

In this virtual field trip, I had the opportunity to meet with many different people working at Chevron, in various different positions and fields. I was able to ask questions about their career, journey, personal life, or just about anything I found interesting. This field trip was insightful because it helped me gain exposure to the various different career options at Chevron, as well as allowed me to talk to people who have already been through high school and college, and get some knowledge about what their experience looked like. Some of the valuable knowledge I was able to take away from this field trip includes: identifying an area of interest before college, yet don't limit yourself to that one area, or in other words know what you want but still try new things in case you like something else more. This really impacted me because it taught me to not stay confined to just one thing, and inspired me to attempt to learn new things, such as how to operate an Arduino, and to learn more programming languages. Also, what makes this experience the most memorable is the piece of advice I gained from one of the Chevron employees I met, they said that it's the challenges that help shape the journey and to not get discouraged when you face adversity. Prior to this field trip, seeing failure only discouraged me more, walking out of it I had a whole new mindset, where failure just motivated me further to do better and not let it happen again.

LLNL Virtual Tour(2022)

Throughout this field trip, I was able to get a virtual tour of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. I gained insight into what exactly they did at LLNL, and how they went about doing it. I found out that they performed research for the government, and that they had the largest energy laser system in the world, measuring over a football field long! I was also able to meet with some people who worked at LLNL and gain their insight on what it felt like to work for the government. I was surprised to find out that it is not as strict as my initial opinion of working for the government was, it was just like a regular job with an added sense of security. Throughout this virtual tour, I picked up knowledge on how these high tech laser energy beams work, as well as what it feels like to work for the government. It was very interesting learning about all of the mind blowing numbers of LLNL, including how big their facilities are, as well as how much money they use yearly!

Workday HQ Tour(2023)

I had the opportunity to visit Workday's headquarters in Pleasanton, California. Going on a workday field trip was such a great experience for me. I had the chance to visit the Workday campus and see firsthand how they operate. One of the things that stood out to me was the environment there. It was very relaxed and fun, which is something I really appreciated. It was clear that they value their employees' well-being and want them to be happy while they work. One thing I particularly liked about the Workday campus was the many places you could go to destress. They had lots of outdoor spaces with beautiful landscaping and seating areas where you could relax and take a break from work, as well as a volleyball court and basketball hoop. It was so refreshing to step outside and breathe in the fresh air, surrounded by nature. They also had indoor spaces like lounges and quiet rooms where you could go to get away from the business of the office and focus on your work or recharge. Overall, the workday field trip was an eye-opening experience for me. I learned a lot about how a successful company operates and the importance of creating a positive work environment.

Stanford & Computer History Musuem(2023)

Recently, I had the privilege to visit both Stanford and The Computer History Museum. At the Computer History Museum, I was able to walk through the development of technology as we know it, starting from the most basic of computers up to modern-day technology. Walking through this showcase put in perspective how far we have advanced in such a short amount of time. Further, each exhibit featured life-sized displays that showed how intricate and unique even the most basic of computers were throughout history. After the Computer History Museum, I was fortunate to take a guided tour through Stanford's campus. A tour guide discussed the rich history at Stanford as we walked through the breathtaking campus. Something unique that I learned through this tour was that the college does not admit students by major; instead, it allows students to choose whatever major they would like once admitted. Because of this, most students at Stanford are computer science majors. Overall, I enjoyed this experience and was enriched with a variety of knowledge about both computers and Stanford.

Zeiss(2024)

Visiting Zeiss was an eye-opening experience as I was exposed to technology at the forefront of innovation. Exploring the state-of-the-art facilities, I was immersed in three unique experiences. In the first experience, I explored how to operate and use different microscopes effectively. During this experience, we were tasked with identifying different cells and tissues in the human body. Additionally, I had the privilege of utiziling microscopes that allowed for 3d images of organisms to be transferred into the eyes of the user, giving them a complete view. The second experience featured some of the history of Zeiss, I learned about the development of microscopes at Zeiss through the years. In the final experience, I was able to learn about Zeiss's many products they offer, both commercially and professionally. This is where I was able to learn about some of the innovative technology Zeiss is creating. I enjoyed this experience as I got to learn about innovation in the world of optics.

Guest Speakers

Gary Richter(2021)

Gary Richter was a security analyst for Sandia National Labs and lived an extremely extravagant life. He talked about how he journeyed the world identifying terrorists and threats due to his expertise with nuclear weapons. He also enjoyed a very exploratious life and liked to spend his free time in exotic places, some of his adventures include tracking wild tigers and living in a treehouse in an attempt to make contact with a local tribe. Some valuable knowledge I was able to gain from this guest speaker was that you can always choose a fun career and make the most of it. He was able to maintain a boundary between work and his other life and live a very crazy life doing the things he loves. My major takeaway from this guest speaker was that a life like this and a career like this would not be for me; I enjoy doing extreme things, however moving around this much would not be enjoyable for me. However, this talk still inspired me to not give up on my hobbies and still pursue them even when working. He taught me that you can still do the things you love whilst in the workforce, no matter what job you have.

Donald James(2021)

Donald James has worked at NASA for over 35 years in a variety of different roles, including public affairs, strategic communications, and human capital management. In this guest speaker opportunity, Donald James shared with us his career at NASA, as well as taught us important lessons to getting a job. He talked about how just being smart doesn't get you anywhere, you must have a combination of smarts and people skills to be an ideal candidate for jobs. His book titled “Manners will take you where brains and money won't,” talks about the importance of Manners and having a good attitude. How often an employer will care more about the personality and charisma of a candidate, compared to the technical skills. My most important takeaway from this talk was how he defined success. He defined it as not just material wealth and money, he thought of success as who you are surrounded with and get to spend time with. This really inspired me because it helped me discover my definition of success and why I want to be successful in the future.

Nathaniel Lewis(2022)

I recently had the opportunity to attend a talk by Nathaniel Lewis, a Senior Software Engineer in the Game Platform R&D team at PlayStation. As a software developer myself, I was really looking forward to hearing about his experiences and insights. During his talk, Nathaniel discussed the challenges of building software for gaming consoles and the unique requirements of the gaming industry. He shared some of the technical details of how PlayStation's software architecture works, as well as some of the tools and processes they use to ensure high-quality software. One thing that really stood out to me was Nathaniel's emphasis on the importance of collaboration and communication in software development. He talked about how the development process at PlayStation involves many different teams and stakeholders, and how it's crucial to work closely with everyone to ensure that the software meets everyone's needs. Nathaniel also spoke about his personal experience of progressing through the ranks at PlayStation, starting as a Junior Software Engineer in Hardware and Systems Engineering and working his way up to his current role as a Senior Software Engineer in Game Platform R&D. He shared some of the challenges he faced along the way and the skills and experience he gained that helped him advance in his career. He also emphasized the importance of having a growth mindset and being willing to learn and adapt to new challenges. He encouraged the audience to always seek out new opportunities for growth and to be open to feedback and constructive criticism. It was very interesting to hear about his journey and the valuable lessons he learned along the way.

Sravanthi Rajanala(2022)

I recently had the opportunity to attend a talk by Sravanthi Rajanala, the Director of Machine Learning and Data Science at Walmart Global Tech. With over 20 years of experience in the tech world, including stints at Nokia and Microsoft, Sravanthi is an expert in deep learning in natural language processing. During her talk, Sravanthi discussed some of the most exciting developments in the field of artificial intelligence and machine learning, and how these technologies are being used to solve real-world problems at Walmart. She shared some fascinating insights into the power of deep learning in natural language processing, and how this technology is being used to improve customer experience and drive business outcomes. One of the things that really impressed me about Sravanthi's talk was her deep technical expertise and her ability to explain complex concepts in a way that was easy to understand. She walked us through some real-world examples of how Walmart is using machine learning to improve their operations, and she shared some of the challenges they've faced along the way. Sravanthi also emphasized the importance of collaboration and communication in data science and machine learning. She talked about how her team works closely with other teams across Walmart to ensure that they're meeting everyone's needs and delivering the best possible results.

Maynard Holliday(2022)

Maynard Holliday is a Deputy Chief Technology Officer for Critical Technologies. He currently works in Washington D.C. at Critical Technologies. Attending the guest talk allowed me to glean valuable insights from a leader in innovation and security. Holliday's oversight of the Pentagon's critical technology portfolios highlighted the importance of national security and how it is pivotal for him to complete his role effectively. Further, due to Holliday's impressive resume after graduating from Carnegie Mellon and Stanford, he discussed the importance of and real-world impact of technological advancements. Finally, through his remarkable journey, I learned the importance of collaboration, adaptability, and responsibility in shaping and managing the technological landscape.

Career