Hai-Anh Nguyen put her computer science skills to work as a software engineering intern. Photo by Taylor Ha
A career in tech doesn’t have to be in the tech industry. That’s what computer science major Hai-Anh Nguyen learned when she secured an internship at a film and arts organization.
As a software engineering intern at NextFoundArtist, a platform that provides filmmakers with free exposure and monetization opportunities through an AI-powered database, Nguyen helped build key features. One integrates statistics from social media sites like TikTok and YouTube so artists can track their growth. She also helped create a page to showcase organizations that collaborate with the company and the artists associated with them.
Nguyen, who attended high school in her native Vietnam, initially enrolled at Fordham for its strong finance program but, once she was on campus, pivoted to computer science.
The Power of Human-Centered Tech
She says that her Fordham courses prepared her well for the work she did at NextFoundArtist—and not just the computer science courses one might assume.
“I think soft skills are very important, as well, and Fordham has been doing great at prepping me for those,” she says. “I think that also the liberal arts core curriculum, even though it’s not directly related to what I’m doing, has helped me in terms of communicating with others and just working in a team.”
From New York Startups to Silicon Valley
Her internship at NextFoundArtist didn’t just gain Nguyen a line on her resume; it gave her a new perspective on a possible career path in a creative field, powered by technology. Over the summer, she interned as a software engineer in San Francisco at Slack—a cloud-based platform for collaboration that’s popular with creative teams.
“It was a fantastic experience,” she says. “I was in the Mobile iOS Team, developing the Canvas feature for Slack. I learned a ton, both technical and soft skills. I also had an amazing relationship with my manager and mentor, who I still keep in touch with after the internship.”
She also completed a research internship with Ghost Island Media, a podcasting company with a particular focus on Taiwanese culture. The role wasn’t directly related to her major or ultimate goal to become a software engineer. She pursued it for another reason: curiosity.
“I helped them with transcribing podcasts and setting up in-person podcast interview sessions,” she says. “It really satisfies my curiosity to learn more about Taiwan and the world outside of just coding. I learned a ton about Taiwanese culture and history in the first three weeks there.”
As she looks forward, she’s confident she will find a role that aligns with her goals, though she’s still exploring her interests and is, for now at least, “open to anything.”
“My dream job is to work for something that genuinely excites me, and work with kind people who can support my growth and whom I can learn a lot from every day.”