When Patrick Cody, BS ‘20, was applying to colleges, he knew that he wanted to study at an urban university with a strong computer science program. Four years later, the CS major is preparing to move from Washington, DC, to Seattle, Washington, where he will work as a production engineer at Facebook.
“What I didn’t know I wanted--until I visited GW--was a tight-knit community where everyone knew and looked out for each other,” Cody says, reflecting back on his college search. “I remember talking with a SEASSPAN mentor when I visited for admitted students day and learning about the New Student Getaway, and it was then that I started to realize how special the GW SEAS community really is.”
During his time at GW, Cody was involved in a wide array of activities. “I’ve focused a lot of my time here at GW on trying to give back to the SEAS community, as it has done so much for me,” he says. “My proudest accomplishment has been my time spent with the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), a group dedicated to helping CS students advance professionally and bringing the overall CS community closer together,” explains Cody, who served as both the group’s president and tech chair. “I loved coming up with creative event ideas for my peers, including things like an open-source hack day with a local government agency and a virtual alumni panel.”
Cody also maintained a strong academic record while at SEAS. He graduated magna cum laude, was on the dean’s list as a senior, received the Abdelfattah Abdella Prize for scholarship and service and also was honored with the Arnold C. Meltzer Senior Design Award. Cody also spent two years as an undergraduate TA. “The introductory CS classes are vital to the rest of the curriculum, so I wanted to help new students adjust to the programming mindset,” he says. Cody also participated in the student mentoring program SEASSPAN and served as the organization’s vice president as a senior. “I think SEASSPAN is a huge factor that sets GW SEAS apart from other engineering schools, because having someone who can guide new students through the massive transition that is freshman year really helped me and many of my friends,” he notes.
As Cody prepares to begin his career at a major tech company, he feels well-equipped for the adventure ahead. “The biggest help, I would say, was the experience I gained from doing both research and summer internships,” he says. “Through my internships, I learned what professional software engineering is like, and my most recent one in Seattle is actually what inspired me to move there full time. Thanks to the unique opportunities I’ve had at SEAS, the great faculty who have mentored me, and the alumni network and the connections I have through it, I feel well-equipped to handle life beyond GW.”