10 Questions with Dean Burkey
A podcast dedicated to showing off all the amazing things our students in the UConn College of Engineering are doing. Each month we'll hear from another undergraduate engineering student and see how they respond to the 10 questions!
10 Questions with Dean Burkey
10 Questions! with CS Senior Nichole Samaniego
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Nichole is a senior Computer Science major at UConn with a concentration in Artificial Intelligence, where she has built a strong foundation in both technical and analytical problem-solving. She’s a co-founder of ColorStack at UConn, where she works to create a supportive community for underrepresented students in tech and create opportunities for growth, mentorship, and career advancement. She’s completed two internships at Bank of America during her sophomore and junior years, and has now secured a full-time role with the company after graduation. Through these experiences, She has strengthened her skills in software engineering, collaboration, and real-world problem solving skills. Outside of academics, she is also involved in campus leadership and community organizations. As a proud member of STEM Plus, VII, BAILE, SHPE, and BOSS LADI, she actively contributes to empowering students in STEM and diversity.
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SPEAKER_00Hi everyone and welcome back to the April episode of Ten Questions with Dean Berkey. Today's guest is someone who has turned opportunity into impact. Not just for herself, but for others along the way. Nicole Samaniego is a senior computer science major at UConn who has built an impressive path from her first exposure to tech in high school all the way to a full-time software engineering role at Bank of America. Along the way, she's completed multiple internships with the company, attended major conferences like Grace Hopper, and developed the skills to thrive in a competitive industry. But Nicole's story goes far beyond her own success. She's a co-founder of ColorStack at UConn, helping other students find their path in tech, a leader in organizations like SHEP and Byle, and a mentor and advocate for her peers. As a first generation student, Nicole has taken the opportunities she's been given and turned them into a platform to lift others up. Today we'll talk about her journey, the challenges she's overcome and how she's building both a career and a community. All right welcome to the April episode of 10 Questions with Dean Berkey. I'm excited to welcome our next guest to the podcast, Nicole Samaniego, who is a senior computer science major with a concentration in AI.
SPEAKER_02And welcome to the show Nicole I am so excited to be here.
SPEAKER_00Great. So you mentioned in sort of our intake form that interest in computer science really started with your Synchrony Skills Academy that you attended in high school. What do you think it was about that experience that made you realize that this was the path for you in college?
SPEAKER_02Yeah so I actually started when I joined UConn as a biomedical engineer. So when I joined the Synchrony Skills Academy we were the first cohort so everything was just like a test round. They didn't really know how everything was going to be run yet. They only knew some of like the basics just like we're going to learn Python and we're going to learn how to do this. But everything was kind of a test run. And they connected us with these mentors that guided us through their path and he really saw that I really liked helping people so when we started making websites for my senior design at high school we started making websites for like small businesses that couldn't afford someone to make them like an elaborant like expensive website. And just the like the enjoyment of being able to say like go back and say that I produced that just like was so fulfilling and so then I decided to switch my major because of it because I knew like you know moving forward technology is going to continue to grow and that was something I would really like to be a part of and learn to help people with my major. Okay.
SPEAKER_00So you went from that early exposure to then having not just one but then two different internships at Bank of America and so how did you navigate that process and what role did conferences like the Grace Hopper Conference play in that?
SPEAKER_02Yeah so Grace Hopper was really it was the conference that started it all. I got invited to go and I got sponsored by by and as well as the ColorStack organization. And when I got there it was a tremendous relief to see so many women in STEM just because like I'm a like first gen Latin woman in STEM so I really was like trying to find somewhere that I would feel accepted and I wouldn't feel like I'm competing with everybody and just like the understanding of like what we go through. So like Grace Hopper really was able to like push me to a sense of where I belonged for my internships they were an experience of no other it was in a great an experience especially being my first year I was the only sophomore there. Wow and so all of them were juniors. I was the only sophomore they really took me under the belt and taught me everything I didn't know a lot of things. I thought I came into this very prepared I was not okay absolutely not prepared.
SPEAKER_00But it's a little bit of a wake up call but like wow okay I still don't know a lot.
SPEAKER_02Yeah it was a little wake up call so then for me they really did take under the belt they they assumed with everybody not only just me but including the juniors that they don't know everything. And like the internships where we can grow and learn and so I learned so many new like languages and ways to work in the like professionally what to wear to work professionally how to navigate like if there's conflict how to request time off if I need it it's okay to not work like more than like a nine to five so professional skills as a person not just technical skills. Yeah so it was more they didn't ask for a like you need to do in a coding assessment. It was more just getting to know you questions when I applied and when I got there they really emphasize of like we're gonna teach you everything you need to know. You don't need to feel like if you don't know anything and you're behind because everyone's gonna be at a different pace and we're gonna teach you. And at the end they they really focused on skills that I personally wanted to grow in. So like a big one was public speaking. I am not the greatest public speaker I try to be but I because of those roles I was able to get out of my comfort zone and I'm really getting a lot better at public speaking.
SPEAKER_00So not just developing your technical skills but developing all these things that go into being a successful professor.
SPEAKER_02Yes exactly and like I also learned like got my certifications for like new coding languages as well so that helped me a lot and tremendously especially my next year when I did have to learn those coding languages it was a lot more smoother.
SPEAKER_00So what was the biggest difference between your sophomore year and your junior year internships then and how do you feel like you grew between those two experiences?
SPEAKER_02My sophomore year was more trial and error.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_02It was a lot more like just learning how everything went my junior year I focused more on projects. I was more project based they really honed in into me understanding like next year because I was I already got the like full time my by my junior year. So by junior year they're like hey you we're gonna really focus in on like what you would do as a full time so you get to experience what that would look like a little bit more. The projects being able to like travel to different groups and say like this is what we're doing currently how can you like help us how can we better improve this like a rotation program almost yeah and so it was really great because I got to see a lot of different things and then every week it was different but like I got to hone in on like different like things I was interested in. So software engineering was one cybersecurity was another one and it was it was really great to see like every single thing that was different and like how they used it at the bank. Cause like going into Bank of America I just thought it was just a normal bank. Right. Not nothing more than that I didn't really know that they had like so many like security levels but like I guess it just didn't hone into me until like I started the it's different interacting with the bank from the back end versus like the front end customer right exactly so like when I think of a bank I go in deposit my money or get my money out and then that's it. I never thought about like oh we have so many stuff that goes in and like our job is to make sure if something goes wrong because it it happens every day that it the customer never notices it went wrong in the first place. It's when we failed if they noticed that we went wrong and something happened.
SPEAKER_00So you've now accepted a full-time role as a software engineer you're a senior gonna be graduating in a couple weeks at what point did things really start to feel real for you like you had found your place in in the industry when I got my full time letter I think was the first time I was like it's real I'm signing it it's official and when did you do that?
SPEAKER_02I got that by like October. So you've had uh a really great senior year then having that lockdown for your it was it was really great it was I was very fortunate to be able to do that. Not a lot of students are able to say like oh I have um a job after college right now because of like the industry is just not the best right now.
SPEAKER_00Yeah things have changed a lot in the last few years in computer science.
SPEAKER_02And being able to like say like yeah I I have a full time it's really so like nice because now I can just focus on academics everything I just need to get done to graduate but it's also really sad because every since last semester I was just like even my friends and family can tell you they're like she's always crying about leaving she's not ready but like she's she's not ready to leave but she's ready to graduate you know like the leaving behind like all these like friends that I've made because I didn't make just senior friends. I made friends from junior from sophomore year that I'm going to miss so tremendously a lot like my roommate she is a junior so she's graduating next year I was like when you graduate I'm coming back up just to see you graduate across that stage but it really did become real when I got my full time letter because it was like it's it's happening. Yep and then every single event that I go for senior year is just like another reminder of like oh my god it's it's coming soon and like picking up the cap and gown trying it on it just full of emotions.
SPEAKER_00So you founded or co-founded Colorstack here at UConn. And so tell me a little bit about that organization and what gap did you see that made you want to create something that filled that gap.
SPEAKER_02So Color Stack Nationally is a organization a nonprofit organization to help Latin and black students in computer science to help fulfill them in the industry to help push them to find jobs outside of college as well as like internships and like whatever they really want we here at UConn however are an organization to help computer science students not just Latin and black but all minorities and we're not just for computer science we're for all majors we really wanted um a place for students to find like they they can go to especially for computer science there is a lot of help but there's there's not a lot of guidance of with like where you can go after hours for tutoring there's a lot of like TA help that's been like getting better and it's really great but we wanted somewhere where a lot of students can come in be like I'm a computer science student who can I ask for like classes next year who's like the best way we can go some informal mentoring for students by students. Exactly so we really we really wanted a place that everyone felt like they belonged especially in the computer science and I've we've seen like like organizations kind of started to like be like oh for for women and for like um other minorities we wanted one to like bring those together. So like kind of like a network of like we can bring in the women and we can bring in the other like minorities and we can all combinely work together and just have like all of our organizations like hey if you're a woman in computer science this is this organization. Really reach out to them because they're great and amazing and then like these other organizations as well so like Shep, Nesby like oh these are some other organizations if you relate to them so we we really love combining our events we do that a lot combining events with other organizations to have really fun like events not only just learning how to do coding or to get help but also to like build that community and build like that sense of like I belong here and this is my place. Right.
SPEAKER_00That shared sense of the that building networks yes so you mentioned a couple of other um a couple of other groups so you're heavily involved in groups like SHEP in groups like VAI our Vergnato Institute for Impact here in Bailey and you've served as a mentor and a campus leader. How do you think your identity and community shape the way that you approach leadership in those in those spaces it's really it's a lot of different organizations.
SPEAKER_02So definitely one of the biggest ones that I've been involved in is baile which is bringing awareness into Latino ethnicities. I was not the best best dancer in my family. So I really wanted an organization to join something where I can learn how to dance a lot better. Okay. And I can proudly say I can now because of baile and the dance team and learning how to dance every week and like performing it and not only in front of students but also like outside of students. They're actually going away soon uh for dance team to do a dance competition. Unfortunately I have some family matters so I cannot participate in that one but shout out to baile they're gonna do great um for leadership it was it was great because I got to like do a lot of different things that I didn't think I was going to one was like treasure. Yeah again like finance I've never actually put into perspective of like creating a budget and doing like a lot of these other things so that kind of played into my role of like oh this is something that's actually should be really beneficial to my life um fun fact I took the baile budget sheet and I converted it to my own personal one. Alright so there is that and then becoming a mentor was really great I'm actually still in contact with my mentee he's really great and he actually was really interested in color stack so he actually joined as an eboy member and he's been like so enthusiastic about it and like helping us spread the word out and slowly but surely we're getting the word out for color stack because of it. And there's a lot of other things like Chef going to the Chef conference was amazing. They all were able to give me a sense of like where I belonged and leadership and how to grow and volunteering for Vi was the biggest one that I love doing is the science pool every year. That one's so fun because I get to see how smart these kids are I'm like so impressed by the time I'm finished reading the question they're answering they're answering they're buzzing and they're like we know it it's pie time square I'm like I didn't even get to the second last like word you're over here answering I'm so like enthusiastically impressed with all of you guys are all so smart and deserve everything like that. So it really it just gave me like a sense of like wow like I get to use these skills that I learned in each leadership and like put it not towards only my life but also to like the future and like when I tell my mentee I tell them like hey this is what I've done in my in my four years and I would really like you to like branch out ex do something you never thought you would be able to do because that's like the first step that I always tell myself is like be comfortable with the uncomfortable yeah because if you're just going to stay in one place you're just gonna get used to it and being uncomfortable with the uncomfortable will make you a better person.
SPEAKER_00It's interesting I've heard a lot of discussion about this recently that they're calling it sort of friction maxing. Right? Like you know um putting putting difficulty back into your life because the struggle is what pushes you and stretches you and makes you grow. Like making everything smooth and easy all the time doesn't necessarily result in a lot of growth. Yeah. So we have to have those difficult situations sometimes and those challenging situations to help us grow professionally personally and all that. So I thought it was an interesting term that's been sort of been kicked around lately.
SPEAKER_02Yeah it was definitely something I learned and it was just like be comfortable with the uncomfortable because if you just stay in the same place you're just going to get used to it and you're gonna like you like success it can always go up and down you know if you fail at something try again. You know that's like always the first thing just try. You never know if something will work if it works great we move on to like the next problem if it doesn't work what happened what do we need to fix and then like keep going but if we're just gonna stay the same nothing's gonna get improved. And even though it does work there's always something to be improved you know not everything in the world is perfect right now. So there's always something constantly being trying to be improved.
SPEAKER_00So that's a great transition and so in in addition to your industry work you have also done some work focused on helping Hartford residents better understand things like ICE. Uh what motivated you to take on a project like that with that kind of societal impact or social impact?
SPEAKER_02I think everything that's happening in the world I really love to be able to like put my voice out there and help others. That's like a very big thing of myself of like I love helping others lending a hand to people that you know need it. Especially when COVID hit my family we got like help from a lot of different people you know and it was really great to see like how the community came together to help not only us but others in that similar situation about COVID and how it hits them. So like I told myself like right then and there like if I'm able to be in a position where I can help someone I'm going to do it. I won't just let I just won't be a casual bystander. When I was one day in Perlac they were advertising this class about learn more about ice more about what's happening right now in the community and I thought to myself well like yeah I actually don't know like the full story of what's going on right now how this all started how like the history of ICE was formed and so that's when I went and I joined the class. It was an extra like three credit I believe but it was so like interesting to go into class and to learn everything that happened from like the history of ICE to like what's happening right now in the world and we all as a class decided we need to like inform other people you know inform what's happening what's the history and how we like if they need help where to go. So we decided to do that. We all as a class decided to write like biogra um biographies about different topics um so like some examples were like how was the history of ICE and how it all started and what's what's happening now. What's the what's the path of of ice and like where would you go? Because there's a lot of times where we found research of like people get detained by ICE but they don't they don't know where they went. They aren't contacted or told where they are. So it was it was like things like that where like this is stuff like the public shouldn't know. The public should like research about it and find this information if we can be able to like say hey this is what's happening and to share that information like it was we want to do it. And then it was so like great to be able to be like I helped that part of my community. Sure. And like those biographies are still at the library in Hartford right now actually and they like they print it out once in a while and people collect it, they read about it and they like oh like wow I didn't know about this like I didn't know like Connecticut really didn't have any detention centers. The closest one is in Massachusetts and I'm like yeah so it's this is like information like you should know like we we're we have shared it to the public so they can know they can be more informed and like we can all better understand each other a little.
SPEAKER_00Amazing looking back at your journey here at UConn A first generation student. Um, you mentioned Perlac, you mentioned some other things. What are some of the support systems here that made the biggest difference for you, and how are you paying that forward now for for other students?
SPEAKER_02The biggest one I think that really did give me that support system was Bai. You know, we I started my Yukon career at Bridge. I got an email from Bai saying, hey, like we're doing a summer program at Bridge. Would you like to be interested? It's a like for a couple of weeks you get like an experience of how Yukon life is before you start transitioning into actual Yukon, start making some friends. And I thought it was a great opportunity. And when I went, I was so excited to move into a dorm. I was like, oh my god, these dorms are amazing. There's a lounge over here. There's like because we got moved into the south.
SPEAKER_01Yep.
SPEAKER_02And there was it was the one with like the four bedrooms and like the connecting. Um, so I was like, oh my god, they have like their own bathrooms, they have their own lounges. Like I have a roommate, we have a big closet. Oh my god, this is amazing. Um I was surprised when I moved into my actual dorm. I did not have my own private bathroom. I had to I had the commuter, but it was still really great because I was like, oh, like I got to experience of like what different types of dorms are in different locations. But after bridge, they still gave me that sense of like, hey, like a community.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_02You know, we have our the vi lounge over there and they had study nights every day. And I would go in and I'd be like, hey, like this is this is where I go when like I have no class or just want to like hang out with friends or even like take a nap. They have like little catches, I just take a little nap, power nap, and then go to my next class. And then boss lady came into play.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Boss Lady, I am a proud boss lady, and you know, Dr. Stephanie Santos really introduced me to Boss Lady, and during that time where I did join, it gave me so much more confidence in myself. Because again, like she pushed me into like stuff that I wasn't comfortable about, you know. A big thing was like again, public speaking was something like I had to get comfortable with the uncomfortable. This was before my my internship. So my my second one, I believe. And you know, I started stuttering. And she was like, take a deep breath. You got this, you know the information. We are all here to support you, and go. And then I started talking, and she's like, That was beautiful, that was perfect, that is exactly what you need to say, and that's 10 out of 10. And I was like, Oh my god, and boss lady was so it was so great to be able to be like around, you know, actual other boss ladies, you know. And when it was time for the buy ceremony, actually, you know, Dr. Stephanie Santos, she got us little books that say boss lady, and I still have my notebook, and sometimes when I have like a tough day or I just need like a little boost of motivation, I just read my book and it like it says like what a boss lady is. And it's so it's so great because I'm like, you know, like I have that like support system, so if I ever need something, I can always go to them.
SPEAKER_00So that leads me to my next question. What does keep you motivated when things feel or get overwhelming?
SPEAKER_02My family is a big one. My family has always been there. I love tremendously my family so much, you know. Sometimes I I would say, like, you know, sometimes I annoy them, you know, with certain things, but you know, at the end of the day, I know they love me and I love them so much. And, you know, being first gen has really helped me like provide like a future for my family. Like my little cousin, she's going to college next year, and I'm so tremendously proud of her.
SPEAKER_01Where's she going?
SPEAKER_02You know, actually she's still deciding. She but she did get accepted to Yukon stores.
SPEAKER_01Awesome.
SPEAKER_02And so I'm like, if you do go to stores, I'm just telling you, it's a good experience. You know, I'm not biased or anything.
SPEAKER_00No, no, a little bit of the the hard sell there, right?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's not not biased at all. Didn't definitely go to school at stores. But it like they were really great. My family has always been like a big support system, especially when there's a lot of stress that comes into college play and a lot of pressure to do like to not fall behind and like do well. My family has always been there and been like, you got it, you're gonna do great, you're gonna be okay. If you need a day off, take the day off. You know, don't don't let it affect too much of your mental health, you know. You are academics come first, that's always, but also remember you are still a person. You still need a break.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. Self-care is really important. And so we're recording this on April 9th, and graduation is May 9th, so we're just about actually a month away from graduation.
SPEAKER_02So don't say that on me, I'm gonna cry.
SPEAKER_00So you've made it. Um, and so tenth question to wrap up here what advice would you give to other young women who want to pursue a career in tech like you're gonna do?
SPEAKER_02There's so much I could say about that question. Really, like being a woman in STEM is hard. Being a woman Latina in STEM is so hard. But just keep pushing. Like, that's the biggest thing I can say. Like, remember you have these safe spaces, you know, they're out there, you just need to find them. If you're in UConn stores, definitely check out Boss Lady. It's not just for like minority women, but women in general, to find that that place, that sense of like they belong and they're welcome because being a woman is so tremendously hard sometimes, especially when we want to share our voice, and sometimes our voice gets ignored. It's just you know you belong. And maybe not right now, or there's times where you feel like, hey, like, I'm not getting my voice heard, you know. Push yourself, like fight for yourself. You are your biggest like advocacy, you know. So if you want something done, do it. If you want to try something new, do it. Like, you got so many things in life you can do, and you know, I might not know if you're listening to this, but I believe in you. So at least you have one person that believes in you, you know. I will always be a girl's girl, I will always be the type to be like, hey, like to a fellow Latina woman or a woman in general, like if you need someone in your corner, I will be in your corner for a hundred percent in the time. That goes for not just my friends that I've met, but like any woman I see, I'm just like, oh, if they're doing that, I'm so proud of them. Yes, keep going. So definitely like you have people in your corner keep fighting and just keep going.
SPEAKER_00Awesome. Well, thank you so much for joining me today, Nicole. I look forward to celebrating with you at graduation in about a month, and we'll be very excited to see what you do next.
SPEAKER_02Thank you so much for having me. It was really great to be here, and yes, I will see you at commencement. If I cry, I'm so sorry.
SPEAKER_00Hey, a lot of people cry at commencement.
SPEAKER_02That's great.
SPEAKER_00Nicole's story is a powerful example of what happens when opportunity meets determination. From her first exposure to computer science to securing a full-time role at a global company, she's built a path defined not only by success, but by purpose. Along the way, she's created opportunities for others, mentoring students, building communities, and making sure no one has to navigate their journey alone. That's the heart of Because of UConn. By supporting programs, mentorship, and access to opportunities, UConn empowers students like DeCole to not only achieve their goals, but to lift others up along the way. Because of UConn, students are able to turn potential into progress and progress into lasting impact. Thanks for listening and celebrating the stories that show what's possible when students are given the support to succeed and the platform to give back. For more information, visit because.