Ihar Valodzin ’07

Clark was recommended to me by a family member, Nadya Barishnikova. She studied economics and math at Clark and graduated a few years back.

I decided to be a computer science major in middle school. I started learning VB 6.0 in ninth grade on my own. I was always very passionate about technology and PCs for as long as I can remember. Math was a good addition as it explained and helped me understand many of the computer science concepts. Math is generally a very useful discipline to master as it gives you a huge advantage over others in subjects like finance or economics.

I really enjoyed the personal approach I received at Clark. As long as I did well in class and showed promise, my efforts were recognized in the form of internships with ITS, opportunities to participate in research, and other learning opportunities offered by Clark and the department.

I really enjoyed working with two students in the first-year research class Professor Han taught last spring (viewable here). It gave me a chance to create study plans, assignments and generally try to encourage the students to pursue this area of academics. It was a very interesting and beneficial experience.

I got a job offer with an insurance company in Hartford for a rotational program in their IT department. The program allows me to experience various aspects of IT work by rotating to different roles six months at a time. Many other large corporations offer such programs. I highly recommend students to pursue this career track.