When and how did you choose your major?

I chose to major in math at the end of my sophomore year. I had taken a bunch of math and physics classes, and had originally declared a physics major. But I was inspired by my math professor Naomi Jochnowitz to want to prove (and therefore understand) everything. It changed the way I thought about the world, and made me decide math was the major for me. It was a good choice for me: math opens a lot of doors.

What activities were you involved in as a student and what did you gain from them?

I spent a lot of time playing violin in the University’s Chamber and Symphony Orchestras, as well as time in the music department playing chamber music. Access to great coaching and a fantastic music library at Eastman also helped further my musical development as someone not majoring in music. I currently still play a lot, and it is a fantastic way to meet interesting people from all walks of life.

What do you do now and why did you choose this career?

I analyze and visualize large data sets for PayPal. Data visualization requires a combination of analytical skills and an artistic sensibility that aren’t often found together, so it’s a cool niche. It’s also a lot of fun. Finding this career hasn’t been a straight path. Since I graduated, my formula for finding jobs has been “programming + domain specific knowledge = something fun”. The domains I have worked in include physics, photography, music, and now, visual arts.

What skills, tools, or knowledge from your major have been most useful to you since graduation?

The single year of computer science classes (CS 171 and 172) that I took have paved the way for my entire career. Lack of fear of math, more than any particular course I took in the math department, has also served me quite well. I’ve worked with experts in a lot of fields, from ecology to physics, and have been able to understand and implement their ideas due to that mathematical literacy and fluency.

How do you balance your work and personal life?

When you love what you do, finding that balance isn’t as hard; work doesn’t seem like as much of an imposition. But having activities that I also love outside of work forces me to make time for them. I have found myself showing up to work after having already been awake for five hours, so that I could drive to the coast to photograph sunrise over the water.

What advice do you have for current students?

You will be happiest in your career when you can do something you enjoy. And the job you might have ten years after graduating may not even exist or have a name now. Combining your passions with a solid skill set may take you much further than doing something that seems reliable that you don’t care about. Take a year of programming courses; they will change your life. And take enough math to not be afraid of it; math is everywhere!

Why did you choose to attend the University of Rochester?

I was interested in Rochester for its focus on astronomy research and education. My number one reason for choosing UR was that I knew I wanted a school that had an in depth program on astronomy, and Rochester does some great research in the field. Another reason is one of the best things Rochester offers is the ability to design your own major, minor, and clusters with your advisors. I was able to design both my own clusters in music and history, which was perfect because they were two subject areas outside of astronomy that I was really interested in.

When and how did you choose your major?

I always had a fascination and interest in astronomy and was really looking for a strong program that would provide me a lot of opportunities to learn about physics and astronomy. In high school, I knew that was what I wanted to be involved in, so I specifically chose Rochester for my major. As I was taking the required math courses for the physics and astronomy major, I discovered I would only need a couple more courses to receive a Bachelor’s in mathematics. The great thing about both of them was that I was able to pick the courses that interested me the most and design my own course of study with my advisors. I even had the opportunity to work in labs with professors on current astronomy research.

Also, my interest in education began at Rochester. During my sophomore year, I participated in Jumpstart, which was an early literacy program designed to partner you with young children to help them with their literacy skills. Needless to say, I loved the experience and began to debate heading into education. It wasn’t until my take five year that I finally committed to that decision and applied to the Warner School of Education. I had a busy, but very worthwhile, experience at Warner, and I am still having a blast mixing all the experience and education that Rochester has provided me into my career.

What activities were you involved in as a student and what did you gain from them?

For the majority of college I was a member of Residential Life. My sophomore year I was a D’Lion, my junior, senior, and take five years I was a resident advisor, and during my time at Warner I was a graduate head resident. I think the greatest thing about those experiences was that since I was in freshmen dormitories for five years I was able to connect and meet so many people from different class years, which really made my experience at Rochester special and enjoyable.

Although it is not an activity, another great experience I received was through the Take Five program. I was able to build my own program of study to something outside of my major and study it for a year after graduation. I chose music cognition, which consisted of a mix of classes between the music department and brain and cognitive science department. I was able to create my own independent study through Eastman. Every course I took that year was amazing, and it has provided me with a new interest and passion that I continue to think and learn more about.

What do you do now and why did you choose this career?

Currently, I am a science educator at the Maryland Science Center. My title is the SpaceLink Manager. SpaceLink is a current update center and exhibit related to astronomy and aerospace science. Beyond managing the exhibit, I also teach classroom programs related to physics, astronomy, and other sciences to students and families. The awesome thing about this job is that I am able to take the science I learned from my major and some skills and knowledge of astronomy research I gained in the Near-Infrared Astronomy Laboratory and incorporate them with my formal and informal science education practices I gained from the Warner School. I chose this career because I was interested in teaching science and focusing mainly on astronomy education. Also, It is very cool to be working at a science center because my passion for science began in the second grade during a field trip to the Rochester Museum and Science Center.

How are you still connected with the University?

There are a lot of alumni around the Baltimore area. We enjoy meeting up with each other and continually find new alumni to hang out with. The Rochester community was a perfect size, so someone will always know someone in a different class year. You can continually build friendships through the University connection.

Also, I have connected with the University through my teaching. When I student taught in Rochester, I brought my classroom to the physics and astronomy department for a field trip and showed them some of the labs and research being conducted. I also continue to help out the Warner School’s new cohorts and share information about education that can help them become even better teachers.

Rochester senior Edith Hanson, who will graduate with dual majors in Japanese and computer science and a minor in history, was named a Fulbright alternate to South Korea. Rising junior Adam Russak was chosen to participate in the 2012 Fulbright US-UK Summer Institute, where he will spend six weeks studying at Durham University in the United Kingdom. Russak, a native of Agoura Hills, Calif., is completing a bachelor of science degree in applied math and also doing a minor in classical civilization.

Dundas, who will graduate on May 20 with a bachelor of arts degree in anthropology from the College, will spend a month in Katmandu, undergoing extensive training in the Nepali language and honing her teaching skills. During her eight-month stay in Nepal, she hopes to volunteer in a local health clinic or assist in research and community projects, in addition to her teaching assistantship.

For Dundas, the Fulbright is an opportunity to build upon experiences she had working with and studying Nepali refugees in America during summer 2011. Dundas, who was awarded an Anthropology Undergraduate Research Grant, worked with newly settled Bhutanese refugees during an internship with the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program. Dundas lived with a Nepali family originally from Bhutan, serving as an in-home English tutor. During the summer, she also used her research grant to study newly formed agricultural projects that help refugees and immigrants acclimate to the United States. Both experiences will help inform her honor’s thesis, which explores the American experience of Nepali refugees.

For Dundas, traveling to Nepal as a Fulbright is not her first international education experience. She also studied abroad in Cape Town, South Africa, as a Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholar and also received an IES Africa Scholarship. During her time in South Africa, she worked in impoverished Cape Flat communities, teaching English as a Second Language to nine through 12-year-olds.

At Rochester, Dundas was involved in the campus chapter of GlobeMed, a student organization that is committed to improving the conditions of global health and advocating for social justice. As a tutor with UReading, she spent nearly 10 hours each week helping preschool children develop their language, literacy, math, and social skills at Rochester City School District School 29. She also served as a resident assistant for four semesters.

The Fulbright program, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, offers opportunities for career-launching study, teaching, and research abroad and are designed to promote education and cultural exchange between the United States and other nations. Postgraduate scholars pursuing study or research design their own programs and arrange institutional affiliations in the host countries. The grants cover expenses such as travel and health insurance, and also provide a monthly stipend. Established by Congress in 1946, Fulbright is the largest federally sponsored international educational exchange program.

Sean Al-Gattas ’13 is one of them. A junior majoring in mathematics, he was recently hired to spend the summer working at the NSA headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland.

The National Security Agency is responsible for providing intelligence services to the Department of Defense, the CIA, and various industry partners. In conflicts, it processes strategic and tactical information to war planners. It is the nation’s largest employer of mathematicians, who figure out ways to protect sensitive domestic information and intercept foreign communications.

Al-Gattas will be working on a daily basis on a project with other NSA mathematicians. It will be confidential and rigorous, and at the end of the summer he is expected to deliver a presentation to the director of the NSA. It not only requires advanced mathematical reasoning, but also the ability to work in a discrete environment.

Much of the work involves cryptography, an ancient science that intersects the disciplines of mathematics, engineering, and in modern times, computer science. “I think of cryptography as the mathematics of keeping secrets,” says Al-Gattas. More than an exclusive language, it’s the technique of keeping a secret in plain sight. Early forms of keeping secrets often involved ciphers, like the scytale, a device used by Spartans involving a message on a strip of parchment that can only be read when wound on a stick. Cryptography is often most important in wartime: World War II saw a massive rise in the numbers of codebreakers devoted to understanding the communications of the other side. In modern times, cryptography has reached into the life of ordinary Americans, providing security for computer passwords and ATM cards.

Although he has sat in on Professor Amanda Beeson’s class, MTH 233: Cryptography, Al-Gattas has never formally received credit for cryptography. As a freshman coming to Rochester from Syracuse N.Y., he intended to major in physics before settling on mathematics. One of his favorite topics is Graph Theory, and he spent the last semester at Penn State studying Ramsey Theory; both require heavy use of abstract reasoning and mathematical modeling. These skills will be useful when Al-Gattas starts working on developing cryptography and related mathematics.

Al-Gattas loves this kind of work, and his enthusiasm for both advanced mathematics and NSA experience is hard to miss. “I’m really excited to do work with the other students in the program. It’s going to be incredible to be working with really talented students and scholars who are among the best at what they do.” Al-Gattas is also active in the campus community. He has been elected to Phi Beta Kappa, works as a TA for various math classes, and plays tuba in Brass Choir. Paul Fili, one of the math professors at Rochester who wrote a recommendation for Al-Gattas for the NSA says that Sean “is both a friendly person and a talented young mathematician with a sharp mind. I’m very pleased to hear he received this opportunity and I’m sure he will do an excellent job.”

Does he have any advice for other undergraduates? “Do your research, and use Google to your advantage. Nobody told me about working at the NSA before, and I sort-of just stumbled on it. It’s a really weird thing that I was able to get this opportunity, but it just goes to show that plenty of things are possible if you try.”

Do you have an interesting internship or job offer this summer? Tell the Rochester community by emailing the editor of The Buzz at thebuzz@rochester.edu.

Article written by Dan Wang, a sophomore at Rochester, who studies philosophy and economics. Photo courtesy of Sean Al-Gattas.

Why did you choose to attend the University of Rochester?

The lack of required courses; I really liked the cluster system. This system allowed me to only take classes I enjoyed and to develop a program that was tailored to my academic passions.

When and how did you choose your major?

I was an oddity (it’s OK to come in not knowing what you want, and to use your freshman year to explore and see what you like); I came to the U of R with the intentions of majoring in mathematics, minoring in statistics, and doing a cluster in linguistics. This slowly developed into a double major in math and statistics and a minor in linguistics. Because of the lack of required courses, I soon realized I could turn them all into majors and so I left with a triple major (dual degrees): BS applied math and BAs in linguistics and statistics.

What activities were you involved in as a student and what did you gain from them?

I spent four years working for the Interpres Yearbook, from sophomore year through my graduating year. There’s no denying that developing a yearbook is a dying art and I am proud to say that I revitalized the creation of one at the U of R. Working for the yearbook, I perfected many skills, including office work (making phone calls, organizing, answering emails, creating spreadsheets, etc.) and artistic work (performing interviews, creating ads, taking pictures, etc.)

What resources did you use on campus that you recommend current students use?

The career center–go there early and often. Develop a relationship with a career counselor as soon as you can so he or she gets to know you and can help you as much as possible. You go to college to get a job in a field you want so use the career center to jumpstart that process.

What skills, tools, or knowledge from your major have been most useful to you since graduation?

Each of my majors has contributed to my post-graduate life in its own ways. My math major developed my critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Linguistics has given me insight into how language and communication work (something we do every day without thinking about it). Majoring in statistics provided me with a deep understanding of how numbers and statistics work, (again, something we see everywhere around us but without giving it a second thought).

How are you still connected with the University?

I’m currently in Chicago, IL, where I am in contact with the regional director. In fact, I’m meeting him for lunch tomorrow to discuss my conducting interviews for prospective students this December. I am very excited to be contributing to the U of R in this manner.

What advice do you have for current students?

Work hard but also enjoy your time at the U of R. Explore the city of Rochester by going to different places and events (I unfortunately didn’t start doing this until grad school). And for the future, try to get some work experience in your desired field on top of the superb academics that the U of R provides.

The following graduating seniors received fellowships:

• Emilia Sola-Gracia ’12, bachelor of science in ecology and evolutionary biology
• David Kaphan ’12, bachelor of science in chemistry
• Sharese King ’12, bachelor of arts in linguistics, minor in American Sign Language
• Mark D. Levin ’12, bachelor of science in chemistry, minor in mathematics
• Susan Pratt ’12, bachelor of arts in mathematics and bachelor of science in physics

The following graduating seniors received honorable mentions:

• Chad Hunter ’12, bachelor of science in chemical engineering, minor in mathematics
• Matej Penciak ’12, bachelor of science in physics and bachelor of arts in mathematics
• Benjamin E.R. Snyder ’12, bachelor of science in chemistry and bachelor of arts in mathematics

The following graduate students received fellowships:

• Michael Baranello, doctoral degree candidate in chemical engineering
• Ellie Carrell, doctoral degree candidate in pharmacology and physiology
• Jason Inzana, doctoral degree candidate in biomedical engineering
• Vijay Jain, doctoral degree candidate in physics

The following graduate students received honorable mentions:

• Esteban Buz, doctoral degree candidate in brain and cognitive sciences
• Dev Crasta, doctoral degree candidate in clinical and social sciences in psychology
• Adam B. Johnson, doctoral degree candidate in ecology and evolutionary biology
• Patrick S. Murphy, doctoral degree candidate in microbiology & immunology
• Ian Perera, doctoral degree candidate in computer science

The following recent alumni, who are currently pursing advanced degrees elsewhere, received fellowships:

• Molly Boutin ’11, bachelor of science in biomedical engineering
• Caitlin Hilliard ’10, bachelor of arts in brain and cognitive sciences and American Sign Language
• Patrick Sheehan ’11, bachelor of science in physics & astronomy and bachelor of arts in mathematics
• Raisa Trubko ’10, bachelor of arts in physics and bachelor of science in optics
• David J. Weinberg ’11, bachelor of science in chemistry
• Hannah (Geswein) Williamson ’08, bachelor of arts in psychology

The following recent alumni, many of whom are currently pursing advanced degrees elsewhere, received honorable mentions:

• Samuel Anderson ’11, bachelor of science in chemistry
• Isthier Chaudhury ’11, bachelor of science in chemical engineering and bachelor of arts in interdepartmental programs
• Emily (Grzybowski) Dennis ’11, bachelor of science in molecular genetics and bachelor of arts in studio arts
• Aaron Gorenstein ’11, bachelor of science in computer science
• Seth Kallman ’09, bachelor of science in brain & cognitive sciences
• Kathleen Mulvaney ’10, bachelor of science in molecular genetics
• Alison Ossip-Klein ’10, bachelor of science in ecology and evolutionary biology
• Camillia Redding ’10, bachelor of arts in political science
• Maria Strangas ’10, bachelor of science in ecology & evolutionary biology
• Adam Williamson’08, bachelor of science in electrical & computer engineering and bachelor of arts in physics

Article written by Melissa Greco Lopes, editor of The Buzz and student life publicist in University Communications. Photo courtesy of  the NSF website.