{"id":12418,"date":"2024-07-23T15:02:16","date_gmt":"2024-07-23T15:02:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.golive.clarku.edu\/news\/2024\/07\/23\/it-feels-surreal\/"},"modified":"2025-12-03T10:28:35","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T15:28:35","slug":"it-feels-surreal","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2024\/07\/23\/it-feels-surreal\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018It feels surreal\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n<p class=\"intro news-subhead\">Nina Carlson \u201924 is ready to join Microsoft<\/p>\n\n\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Nina Carlson &#8217;24. Photo by Moses Millman &#8217;24.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>If you told a young Nina Carlson \u201924 that she\u2019d one day secure a full-time job in high-tech before graduating from college, she wouldn\u2019t believe it. She\u2019d hated her high school computer science classes and came to Clark planning to major in economics.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_52870\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-52870\" style=\"width: 420px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium-large wp-image-52870\" src=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023-C4ReShoot-MM-12-420x280-2.jpg\" alt=\"students at table\" width=\"420\" height=\"280\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-52870\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nina Carlson &#8217;24, far right, with members of C4. Photo by Moses Millman &#8217;24.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But this August, Carlson will begin her career as a junior software engineer at Microsoft in Seattle.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It feels surreal. The closer we get to that point, the more I&#8217;m like, is this actually happening?\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>Carlson became interested in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/academics\/undergraduate\/programs\/majors-minors\/computer-science\/\" aria-label=\"major in computer science\">computer science<\/a> in her first year at Clark when her parents encouraged her to not write the field off completely. She enjoyed her classes so much that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/offices\/career-connections-center\/\" aria-label=\"CCC website\">Career Connections Center<\/a> suggested she make computer science her second major. At her father\u2019s urging, she started her sophomore year applying to internships at Microsoft, Apple, and Google for the following summer.<\/p>\n<p>Eventually, the phone rang with an offer from Microsoft. Carlson completed an arduous screening process that included interviews with three software engineers and coding exercises before landing a position. During the summers of 2022 and 2023, she interned in the Microsoft Explorer program, a hybrid of software engineering and program management. Just after her internship wrapped up, Carlson received her full-time job offer.<\/p>\n<div class=\"csidebar right\"><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Sure about STEM<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/academics\/undergraduate\/programs\/majors-minors\/computer-science\/\" aria-label=\"major in computer science\">Major in computer science<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/schools\/becker-school-of-design-and-technology\/\" aria-label=\"major in interactive media\">Major in interactive media<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/engage.clarku.edu\/organization\/c4\" aria-label=\"C4 club page\">Join C4<\/a><\/p>\n<p><\/div>\n<p>Carlson is proud to be a woman in technology and has used her time as president of the Clark Competitive Computing Club \u2014 known as C4 \u2014 to break down preconceived notions about STEM fields, especially for female-identifying, gender-expansive, and minority students.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel like C4 has been my way of making my mark on this campus,\u201d she says. \u201cIt&#8217;s so important to keep female-identifying people active in this industry and lift them up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUsing your voice is vital,\u201d she adds. \u201cDon&#8217;t be afraid to speak up in class. Stand your ground and be assertive when necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>C4 collaborates with the clubs All Kinds of Growth (AKOG) and SPLASH, a branch of the Educational Studies program at Clark, to <a href=\"https:\/\/clarknow.clarku.edu\/2023\/12\/07\/you-can-do-it-too\/\" aria-label=\"ClarkNow story\">make computer science more accessible<\/a> for Worcester-area youth.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGiving kids the exposure to this subject early on is so important,\u201d Carlson says. \u201cIt&#8217;s also great to interact with the community and give back.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_52869\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-52869\" style=\"width: 420px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium-large wp-image-52869\" src=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023-C4Interview-MM-8-420x280-3.jpg\" alt=\"student sitting in chair\" width=\"420\" height=\"280\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-52869\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nina Carlson &#8217;24. Photo by Moses Millman &#8217;24.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>During a web development course taught by Professor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/faculty\/profiles\/shuo-niu\/\" aria-label=\"professor bio\">Shuo Niu<\/a>, Carlson discovered that computer science could introduce her to new interests. When she and her classmates were assigned to create a website for a local small business, Carlson recalled driving by an alpaca farm in Exeter, Rhode Island, called Emma\u2019s Acres, and stopping on a whim. She was enthralled by the farm lifestyle of owners Collette and Roger Gage and enjoyed interacting with the alpacas.<\/p>\n<p>Her group decided to revamp the Emma\u2019s Acres website, overhauling it with new images and updated information (the site is still searchable on Google). The project was so inspiring that, Carlson says, it sparked in her a desire to own an alpaca farm someday.<\/p>\n<p>Carlson continues to indulge her creativity and adventurous spirit. She studied in Iceland in spring 2023, kindling a desire to visit every continent. In a film photography class with Professor Stephen DiRado, she developed a passion for photographing interesting scenes around Worcester and can often be seen with her camera at the Miss Worcester Diner. \u201cI want to make a darkroom in my studio apartment and develop film in my kitchen sink,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>Even as she explores new hobbies and gets ready for the move to Seattle, Carlson is thinking about her 10-year plan.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI hope that down the line I\u2019ll have a leadership position where I can oversee projects and coding,\u201d Carlson says. \u201cI\u2019d love to guide others. If I can get to that point, that would be amazing.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After her summer internships, Nina Carlson \u201924 is ready to join Microsoft having received a full-time job offer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":12419,"template":"","meta":{"story_color":"#525250","story_headerImg":12419,"section_label":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[223,227,239],"displayed_author":[228],"featured":[],"topic":[232,252,230,231,278,154,151,216,305,282,163,119,127,121],"class_list":["post-12418","story","type-story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-clark-community","category-science-technology","category-worcester-world","displayed_author-abbie-hart-25","topic-alumni","topic-alumni-stories","topic-career-connections-center","topic-careers","topic-class-of-2024","topic-computer-science","topic-hands-on-learning","topic-major-in-computer-science","topic-major-in-economics","topic-mathematics-and-computer-science-department","topic-sciences","topic-student-life","topic-undergraduate-research","topic-undergraduate-students"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>\u2018It feels surreal\u2019 | ClarkU News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2024\/07\/23\/it-feels-surreal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018It feels surreal\u2019\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After her summer internships, Nina Carlson \u201924 is ready to join Microsoft having received a full-time job offer.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2024\/07\/23\/it-feels-surreal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ClarkU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-03T15:28:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023-C4Interview-MM-8-scaled-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/2024\\\/07\\\/23\\\/it-feels-surreal\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/2024\\\/07\\\/23\\\/it-feels-surreal\\\/\",\"name\":\"\u2018It feels surreal\u2019 | ClarkU News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/2024\\\/07\\\/23\\\/it-feels-surreal\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/2024\\\/07\\\/23\\\/it-feels-surreal\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/37\\\/2023-C4Interview-MM-8-scaled-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-07-23T15:02:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-03T15:28:35+00:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/2024\\\/07\\\/23\\\/it-feels-surreal\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/2024\\\/07\\\/23\\\/it-feels-surreal\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/37\\\/2023-C4Interview-MM-8-scaled-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/37\\\/2023-C4Interview-MM-8-scaled-1.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"C4 President Nina Carlson \u201924. 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