What influenced your decision to choose Software Engineering? Tell us a little bit about your path getting here.
I originally came to ISU as an undeclared engineering major, leaning towards chemical because I was good at chemistry in high school. My roommate freshman year, Zach (former SE peer mentor!) was a software engineering major from the start and I got to see what he did for classwork and for fun on the side with all of his random projects, and it looked super fun! The more I thought about it, the more I realized I really liked working with computers and programming, so I decided to make the switch.
Where is your “hometown”? Fun fact about home?
I am from Delano, Minnesota. One fun fact is Delano has the oldest 4th of July celebration in Minnesota, and they have one of the biggest carnivals every year. I always look forward to going home for that!
“Don’t be afraid to go to events and get to know people” – Wyatt Duberstein (SE ’23)
What are you involved in at the university (or off)?
My freshman year, my roommate Zach and I started the Larch LAN Club, a small self-hosted Minecraft server and Discord community. We did this for the entirety of time we both lived in Larch. I also worked at the Conversations dining center until my junior year.
When Covid hit, I joined the Runtime Terror Discord server that had started due to online classes and ECpE students being unable to have any meetings or events in person. I applied to be a moderator there, and I made it to the admin rank, which meant I was able to help facilitate the events and logistics of the server, as well as spend a lot of time on there hanging out with friends when we were all stuck in our rooms.
My junior year I became an RA, and that came with its own challenges of getting to know everyone and becoming a student leader. When my senior year came around, I had a lot more experience being a student leader, and applied to be a SE Learning Community peer mentor. I was offered the job, and spent most of my senior year making sure that incoming freshmen had a good experience and were set up for success. I also became much more active at St. Thomas Aquinas church, being a retreat leader and joining/assisting small groups. I also started and completed my second year of being an RA.
What was your favorite part of student life? And why?
I love hanging out in various places on campus and doing homework (mostly Coover) because so many of my friends show up and I get to hang out with them and work with them or just catch up.
Who has had the biggest impact on you and why?
First and foremost my wife, Trinity, who helped me realize Software Engineering was the way to go for me, as well as supporting me all the way through college through good times and bad times. I would also say my roommate, Zach, had a lot of impact on me, because he directly inspired me to go into Software Engineering and to push myself to see what I could learn. The other RAs I worked with over the past two years have also had a major impact on me spiritually and in friendship.
Tell us a little about your last internship. What role did you play? What did you like most about your role?
I had one internship over the Summer of 2022, at RSM. I was a Data Integration Consulting Intern. I helped companies find solutions for integrating old systems with new systems and converting their old data into supported formats.
What are your plans after graduation?
We will be moving to Bismarck, North Dakota where I will be working for RSM as a D365/Custom Apps Developer for the Des Moines office remotely.
If you could give an incoming SE Program student advice, what would it be?
DON’T TAKE COM S 230! Take Cpre 310 instead. Kidding aside, don’t be afraid to go to events and get to know people. One of my favorite things my senior year has been going around campus and seeing so many people I know on any given day. I can also go to Coover and know so many people there, too, and hang out with them.
Could you tell us a little more about your experience at Iowa State? Favorite memories?
Some of my favorite memories include playing at the Larch LAN Club, hanging out with my fellow RAs on late duty nights, and spending time with my wife once she moved in with me this spring semester and getting to share my ISU experience with her.
What’s one random fun fact about yourself you’d be willing to share?
I like to host websites and gameservers from my apartment! If there is some kind of handy tool that is in website form, I will download it and host it just to use. I have a Nextcloud server that has become my personal storage for all of my important files.