Students Focus Their Career Trajectories Through Participation in Students@SC
While pursuing her master’s degree in computational science, Verónica Melesse Vergara attended her first SC conference – SC10 in New Orleans – as a student volunteer. And that experience completely changed her career trajectory.
“It opened my eyes to the wide range of career possibilities in high performance computing,” says Verónica, who today is the System Acceptance & User Environment Group Leader at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). “The relationships I formed at SC10 have been invaluable, and the collaborations I established as a result have helped me grow as an HPC professional.”
“The relationships I formed at SC10 have been invaluable, and the collaborations I established as a result have helped me grow as an HPC professional.” — Verónica Melesse Vergara
Anthony Cabrera, a PhD student, discovered the SC conference through Twitter contacts. Anthony applied and was accepted to be a student volunteer at SC17 in Denver.
“My experience as an SC student volunteer was truly a game changer for me,” explains Anthony, a research scientist in the Architectures and Performance Group at ORNL. “All of my career opportunities have been through my involvement with SC.”
Verónica and Anthony are not alone. They are among countless HPC professionals who, as undergraduate or graduate students, have kickstarted their careers by participating in Students@SC.
“All of my career opportunities have been through my involvement with SC.” — Anthony Cabrera
Dozens of students will have an equally robust opportunity to learn, serve and network at this year’s event in Dallas. Three primary areas where students can benefit:
- Serving as a Lead Student Volunteer, which is limited to those who have previously served as SC student volunteers;
- Serving as a Student Volunteer, assisting in conference operations while also attending/participating in the Technical Program;
- Participating in the Student Cluster Competition, which involves teams of undergraduate students from around the world who put their skills to the test building, operating and tuning powerful cluster computers.
“Students@SC is important for finding and developing the next generation in HPC.” — Jenett Tillotson
This is a program I’m passionate about, because I know Students@SC is important for finding and developing the next generation in HPC. The student program produces great future HPC leaders.
Besides volunteering and the Student Cluster Competition, students attending SC22 will also be able to attend a job fair, participate in a variety of mentoring programs, and become immersed in HPC through student-specific technical programs aimed at advancing the skills required to thrive in an HPC career.
But perhaps the greatest benefit is for students to take advantage of the ability to meet and interact with some of the world’s leading HPC proponents.
“The networking opportunities are unparalleled,” says Sally Ellingson, who works in computational biology and high performance computing as Assistant Professor of Biomedical Informatics at the University of Kentucky and Markey Cancer Center. Like Verónica, she first participated in SC as a student volunteer at SC10. “I fell in love with the community at SC and knew immediately that I would be back.”
“The networking opportunities are unparalleled.” — Sally Ellingson
Learn more about the Students@SC program, including how to apply for selection as a student volunteer, cluster competition details, and many other valuable opportunities for students.