Department Alumni

VP Technology, Object Computing

My studies at UMSL

I always loved mathematics and technology but invested my early college education in the Saint Louis area Roman Catholic seminary system; liberal arts and theology. Once I realized that priesthood was not for me, I could focus fully on my love for mathematics and technology. I chose UMSL to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science because exseminarians are poor, UMSL education quality is excellent, and its location made it possible for me to attend college while also holding down a full-time job.

Once I began attending classes at UMSL, I was impressed by the faculty’s understanding of their domain, their grasp of our current industrial and commercial context, and their very effective teaching skills. I particularly enjoyed Profs. Schwartz and Connett’s puzzles and real-world simulated challenges.

My work and life 1983 was a tough year to look for a job after graduation. The U.S. economy was struggling, and businesses were being very conservative regarding hiring. Moreover, I believe that my non-conventional academic path (study in Philosophy and Theology) was unattractive to the few companies that were hiring. I took a job as a teacher at Saint Mary’s High School in south Saint Louis in order to pay the bills while serving my community. This also afforded me the time to pursue graduate Mathematics studies at Washington University, with a focus on group and ring theory. That foundation of philosophy, liberal arts, computer science, and mathematics has served me very well ever since.

I have had the opportunity and privilege to be on teams doing amazing things. We applied inverted bitmap searching to chemical compound research (Tripos drug discovery) and early internet text-based searching (EDS intranet). We widened the curve and surface definitions available to a major CAD/CAM system, developed graphics software tools in support of the creation of digital electrical schematics, and developed a topological analysis of graph representations of wireframe models of machine parts with an interest in automatically identifying the surfaces of these parts (Unigraphics). All of these were directly related to my previous UMSL coursework. I was able to participate in the development of an ISO standard (10303) for the computer-interpretable representation and exchange of product manufacturing information.

These successes led to being accepted as a software architect on many levels (application, solution, system, product, enterprise) and at several Saint Louis area iconic businesses (McDonnell Douglas/Boeing, Anheuser-Busch/InBev, Elsevier, Maritz, Object Computing). Helping Elsevier to architect their amazing healthcare learning platform (Evolve) and Maritz migrate to a 90% open source based incentive platform were highlights. Again, these were born out of concepts I learned and owned through my education at UMSL.

Message to UMSL students

Learn everything! Harvest your curiosity into growing in understanding and knowledge. Not just facts about computer science and information technology. But real understanding; why do people care about this domain or that domain? The facts are going to be “commodity” and broadly accessible. Your edge will be your deep and broad understanding of the world and its communities.

Here for you! Joe.Epplin@att.net

Founder and owner, Beanstalk Web Solutions

My studies at UMSL

After moving back to St. Louis from a brief period studying Ocean Engineering at Florida Atlantic University, I decided to study Computer Science at UMSL. I had only heard good things about the CS program at UMSL. To my surprise, I discovered that the Computer Science department happened to specialize in Artificial Intelligence, which happened to be a deep interest of mine. I greatly enjoyed the program, including the curriculum and the professors. Also, my peers ended up being not only friends, but my first employees at the company I founded while enrolled in the program.

My work and life

While still attending the University, I founded a company called Beanstalk Web Solutions that specialized in Web Design, Digital Marketing, and App Development. The company is thriving and growing to this day. We recently hired our 14th employee. Since starting the company, six of my peers from the Computer Science department have worked with me. Three of them work here to this day. Our education from UMSL has been extremely beneficial. Not only can we leverage the fact that we have degrees in our industry, but many of the skills we learned are directly applicable. Our education in Computer Science also allows us to quickly learn new skills and new programming languages much faster than someone without the degree. Rather than only knowing how to implement techniques, we have a deeper understanding of the 'how' and 'why' behind all of the code.

Message to UMSL students

My best recommendation to current and future UMSL students would be to leverage the resources and opportunities that are available to you. Many, including myself, didn't realize the value of what was being offered until after graduating. The consulting and mentoring that you can get from faculty is incredibly valuable. After graduating, you may have to pay hundreds of dollars per hour to get the same advice that was once made available for free. Also, take your time at UMSL to learn as many skills in your field as you can. Your time becomes more sparse as your life progresses, so it becomes harder to pickup new techniques. Maximize your time at UMSL by staying fully involved and don't avoid asking for help when you need it.

Back-end Software Engineer at Riot Games

My studies at UMSL

I came to UMSL as graduate student from Poland. I’ve always wanted to study in US and when opportunity presented itself I’ve jumped at it. Not knowing where I was going, I’ve set off to study in America. While UMSL was an accidental choice, I’ve never regretted it. I’ve learned a lot, met amazing people and even got my first job thanks to connections I’ve made at school. I’ve also worked on implementing statistical models for cancer research as graduate assistant. Having my plate full with work and classes, I still found time to have fun with friends and participate in school trips to theater, paintball and many others.

My work and life

After graduating UMSL, I’ve started working at Citimortgage as systems admin. While it wasn’t a job of my dreams (I wanted to be a programmer), I’ve still done my best. Noticing a lot of manual work, I’ve decided to write scripts and automate it (basically get as close to programming as I could). Troubleshooting and helping developers find and fix bugs was another of my favorite past times, that eventually led to reputation of very knowledgeable person. When I applied for programmer opening nobody doubted that I could do it and do it well. Few years later I’ve moved to design and eventually management position. During my career at Citi I’ve learned a lot of new things. That’s the fun part about CS, new things are developed constantly, so when you leave school, you don’t stop learning. As much as I enjoyed my employment at Citi, I was looking for something more exciting. That’s when Riot Games came along and offered me position of Software Engineer on one of their development teams. Playing video games while writing code for 100 million players worldwide was just too good to refuse. I’ve jumped at the opportunity and it’s been a wild ride ever since. Speed and scale was so much larger, new type of problems and much faster pace of development and changes were a big surprise, but I love it. Working doing something you’re passionate about is the best way to work. While work is rewarding, believe it or not I do like doing other things that don’t involve computers like flying an airplane (I’ve earned private pilot license), scuba diving, skiing and sailing.

Message to UMSL students

College is not just about getting a degree - it’s important and the primary goal of attending college, but there is so much more you get. Knowledge and experience you’ll gain beyond what’s in the books, friendships that’ll last a lifetime and different perspective that change the way you look at the world and yourself. Keep your eye open for opportunities and and spend as much time as you can with other students - you’ll learn from them even more than from books and professors. Don’t be afraid to try something new, work on side projects and get an internship in your field. University will provide a very good base, it’s up to you what you’ll do with it.