First Siena Student Selected for Google Internship
By Regina Stracqualursi ’15
Computer science major Lucy Mathis ’17 recently became the first Siena student to receive an internship at Google. She is one of only 15 undergraduate students in the United States selected to participate in the tech company’s Information Technology Internship Program this summer.
Mathis came to Siena to study physics, but last year, after she took Professor of Computer Science Maryanne Egan ’86, Ph.D.’s introduction to computer science course, Mathis decided to change majors and pursue a new career field.
“Lucy is very tenacious,” said Egan. “She sees something as a goal and works very hard to achieve it.”
Joining the Women in Computing Club also helped Mathis realize her passion for computer science. Today, she serves as the club’s chairperson.
Still, the most transformative experience for Mathis was attending the Grace Hopper Celebration. She received a scholarship to participate in the annual conference for women technologists and, as it turns out, the experience was life changing.
“I met so many influential, truly remarkable women, and I got to hear the stories of people from all around the world,” Mathis said.
It was at that conference that Mathis met with some of Google’s recruiters. She was contacted only a few days later to arrange a series of telephone interviews that ultimately secured her the internship.
“Lucy was not afraid to introduce herself to people and it was one of those people who championed her application for the internship program,” said Egan. “You can never underestimate the power of a single conversation.”
Beginning in May, Mathis will spend 12 weeks at Google’s headquarters in San Francisco. Although she must keep her duties confidential, Mathis knows that she will be working actively within the company to learn more about the field of computer science.
“I couldn’t have gotten to this point without the help of the Computer Science Department here at Siena College, as well as having Dr. Egan and my mother as role models,” said Mathis. “They both showed me what it means to be a strong woman, and hopefully one day I can have the same influence on the next generation of young computer scientists.”
2018 Update: Mathis has gone on to become a System Architect at Google in California.
