{"id":21107,"date":"2025-05-06T16:31:26","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T20:31:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/?post_type=story&p=21107"},"modified":"2025-05-14T11:06:58","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T15:06:58","slug":"close-to-home-now-ready-to-soar","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2025\/05\/06\/close-to-home-now-ready-to-soar\/","title":{"rendered":"Close to home, now ready to soar"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

Educated in Worcester Public Schools and Clark, computer science major heads to Boston for tech job<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Debrin Adon Suero \u201925 didn\u2019t have to travel too far to come to Clark. Growing up a couple blocks away and attending University Park Campus School (UPCS), Adon Suero became quite familiar with the University, thanks to UPCS student privileges that allowed him to use the library and athletic facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBy junior year, I had already decided that I was going to Clark,\u201d he says. \u201cI really liked the atmosphere, and it was something I was used to. And luckily, I also receive a University Park Partnership scholarship<\/a>, which was a blessing for me and my family.\u201d (The scholarship is available to students from the neighborhood who meet Clark\u2019s admissions standards.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adon Suero lived on campus, which was key to his being able to experience all aspects of university life, he says. He dove right in, getting involved with the Men of Color Alliance, Black Student Union, and Caribbean and African Student Association, as well as the Latin American Student Organization, for which he was vice president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a major in computer science<\/a> and minor in data science<\/a>, Adon Suero participated in two professional clubs: Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship, and the ACM Student Chapter at Clark (CU Computer Science Club).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, in one of the biggest stretches, he admits, for someone who had never performed on stage \u2014 he joined the Salsa Encendida dance group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSalsa was a good way to connect with my culture,\u201d says Adon Suero, whose family has roots in the Dominican Republic. \u201cIn salsa, there is a strong sense of community, and I got to develop a new skill I had never had.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Debrin
Debrin Adon Suero \u201925 dances with Salsa Encendida. (Photos by Natalie Hoang ’25, MBA ’26)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Debrin<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Adon Suero also gained professional experience while at Clark. In his first year, he helped develop a hands-on, immersive coding curriculum for middle and high schoolers and college students. His experience was part of an internship through Clark\u2019s Department of Computer Science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe whole premise of the program was to teach the younger generation about computer science and programming,\u201d he says. \u201cWe did a program with my old high school, and I was proud to give back to the community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At UPCS, Adon Suero had taken his first computer science class, which influenced his decision to pursue the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI love puzzles and enjoy fidget toys. To me, computer science is like a game where you have to solve a problem and use your own personal experience to do that,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI will always preach that anybody can do computer science,\u201d Adon Suero adds. \u201cIt\u2019s just having the time and effort to sit down, think about a problem critically, and have multiple ways of solving it. There\u2019s no one way to solve a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMost people think of an anti-social coder on the screen, 24-7. But computer science comes with a lot of collaboration.\u201d<\/p>\u2014 Debrin Adon Suero \u201925<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At Clark, he found mentors in Professor Li Han and Catalin Veghes, his advisor and a visiting lecturer, both in the Department of Computer Science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe faculty here are great,\u201d Adon Suerto says. \u201cThey help the students in any way possible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also found support through Hack.Diversity, an organization that provides job and networking opportunities for students seeking to build their skills and experience and pursue tech careers. A Hack.Diversity Fellowship supported his summer 2024 internship at Wayfair in Boston and his connection with a Liberty Mutual mentor. By the start of his senior year at Clark, Adon Suero had a job offer from Wayfair, where he will soon start as a software engineer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his internship and computer science classes at Clark, Adon Suero learned that working in the field of technology is more fulfilling than many would believe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMost people think of an anti-social coder on the screen, 24-7. But computer science comes with a lot of collaboration. You work on a team to solve a problem,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I was interning at Wayfair, there was never a time where I was afraid to ask for help. We would sometimes \u2018pair code\u2019 \u2014 work on the same code, at the same time, and come up with solutions together, and I really enjoyed that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just like salsa dancing, Adon Suero discovered, it\u2019s no fun to code alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Main photo above of Debrin Adon Suero \u201925 by Steven King, University photographer<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Debrin Adon Suero \u201925 didn\u2019t have to travel too far to come to Clark. Growing up a couple of blocks away and attending University Park Campus School, he became quite familiar with the University. \u201cBy junior year, I had already decided that I was going to Clark,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":21108,"template":"","meta":{"story_color":"var(--clarku-color-brand)","story_headerImg":21108,"section_label":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[223,227],"displayed_author":[242],"featured":[],"topic":[509,508],"class_list":["post-21107","story","type-story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-clark-community","category-science-technology","displayed_author-meredith-woodward-king","topic-class-of-2025","topic-senior-spotlights-2025"],"yoast_head":"\nClose to home, now ready to soar | 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\/2025\/05\/06\/close-to-home-now-ready-to-soar\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Close to home, now ready to soar\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Debrin Adon Suero \u201925 didn\u2019t have to travel too far to come to Clark. 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