Johnathan Stuecker is one of our part-time student employees that recently completed our summer internship program. Not only is Johnathan pursuing an undergraduate degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Alabama, but he’s also currently working on his MBA. Though Johnathan never thought he’d end up in data science, he’s glad he did. This past summer, his focus was “researching object detection and tracking algorithms for a new drone implementation.”

As Johnathan is a graduate and undergraduate student at the same time, he’s “received a solid technical background that provides a structured method of problem-solving.” He was sure to mention that his technical training isn’t the only thing that has helped him excel in the professional world.
Johnathan said he is “fortunate to have encountered many life experiences that have grown me, helping me hone and develop self-awareness, interpersonal skills, and leadership capabilities.”
As an intern, he “was given a level of independence I never expected from an internship.” The team environment and culture of COLSA allowed him to feel supported and to succeed. During his internship, Johnathan was also a full–time student as well. Though this did make him busy, he said that managing his work-life balance “ultimately came down to ranking priorities and being proactive.”
Johnathan advises new young professionals to take risks and “put yourself in as many places as possible and be flexible.” He said, “it’s easier to get back up after a failure and try something new.”