Mason Randall '01

What is your fondest memory of your time in the CS department?

Fisher Hall was always a fun time during movie night where they'd play late-night second-run movies and kick it all off with a Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner short or two. Late nights in the computer labs the day before a multi-month project was due was always an interesting place to be.

How has your education impacted your career?

When I graduated, I felt that having been through courses in which I had to learn 13 different programming languages was excessive and I was possibly a bit resentful of that. As a professional, I later realized the importance of having a lack of attachment to any one language. Understanding how different ones work has opened doors for me and kept me focused on the function and outcomes of software.

Mason participates in the CS1000 Alumni Assignment project where alumni correspond with first-year computer science students and answer questions they have about the school, the program, the industry, or just life in general at Michigan Tech. "I love hearing back from the students about the changes and new developments going on in Houghton!" he says.