Coming all the way from Brisbane, Australia to the United States to attend college is certainly no easy feat. For Jules de Courtenay, he allowed his love for basketball and passion for computer science and data analysis to guide him toward making the right decision where he would study computer science and help build up a Division 2 basketball program.
“Each unique influence from fellow students and faculty, combined with its small-college compassion makes STAC stand far above other schools. I have found tremendous value in STAC’s ability to both broaden my mind and instill key values that allowed me to be successful and prepared for the workforce.”
“Part of my decision to attend St. Thomas Aquinas College was its Computer Science program. I knew I loved working with computers, so I figured the natural progression would be to follow that into a career. This was reinforced during my education where the program was flexible enough to allow me to put in extra time and learn (then apply) new/advanced skills to assignments.” Jules credits Dr. Vermilyer, the head of the program, as being a huge advocate for supporting his ambition to learn as much as possible (often putting up with endless streams of questions).
“I have a much broader understanding of humanity and its history thanks to STAC’s liberal arts structure. Also, perhaps more importantly, it instilled a thirst to know more and always ask questions.”
Besides studying computer science at STAC, Jules was also a key player on the Men’s Basketball team. During his junior year, the team won consecutive ECC championship titles and made it to the NCAA tournament’s Elite Eight for the first time in program history. Being a Spartan and helping build this program is truly one of Jules’ greatest memories which had a tremendous impact on him, both on the court and in the business world.
“The NCAA Division 2 Basketball program at STAC is like no other and truly prepares its student-athletes for life both in basketball and beyond.”
Prior to graduating, Jules began working for Capgemini, an information technology and digital transformation company in New York City as a Machine Learning Software Associate. In this role, he developed an end-to-end credit card fraud prevention platform. He did so by using the Google Cloud Platform. He also used big data/storage and front-end application services, all of which he was responsible for provisioning and building.
Jules still works at Capgemini but is now a Cloud Data Specialist. He acts as an ‘Insights & Data consultant for the firm’s global financial services clients. Banks, asset/wealth managers, and insurance companies all require data pipelines, storage, and applications to maintain and grow their businesses. His role is to enable, promote, build, and guide the creation of these through either Python and AI, scripting and automation, or design and presentation.
Jules’ career at STAC, both academic and athletic, had a major influence on his current career path in computer science. He was provided with industry experience, encouraged to ask questions, continued to study his profession, and was taught the significance of classroom applications and how they apply in a work setting.
When he is not working on computer science projects, Jules enjoys working out, volunteering at the local ASPCA, and racing his dirt bike!
“A great education emphasizes real-life experiences and allows you to apply the skills you learn in your education. Business is about that application, not just ‘knowing’ facts.”