40 for 40: Profiles of individuals integral to Khoury’s success
40 for 40: Profiles of individuals integral to Khoury’s success
40 for 40: Profiles of individuals integral to Khoury’s success
Alumnus funds academic opportunities for the students who come after him
When Brian Wenzinger’s high school guidance counselor suggested he check out the computer science program at Northeastern University, Wenzinger wasn’t sure he would be going to college. It wasn’t a matter of academic ability or interest, but an issue of financial need. “I wasn’t going to college if I wasn’t getting money to attend,” Wenzinger explained. “Fortunately, Northeastern provided me with a scholarship, and that sealed the deal.” Receiving that scholarship not only set Wenzinger on a path to a college education plus a successful career, it also inspired him to eventually extend that opportunity to students who came after him.
Wenzinger (BSCS ‘89) has fond memories of his five years at Northeastern’s College of Computer Science (now Khoury College). One of his favorite and most valuable experiences was the co-op work. “The combination of academics and co-op was perfect for me,” he said. “I’m one of many people who will say, be smart about your co-ops. Learn what you like to do. Learn what you don’t like to do.” Wenzinger had the opportunity to take on three different co-op jobs during his time at Khoury. They all ended up being good experiences, but his first co-op in the summer after his freshman year, which involved otherwise unexciting data entry and minor programming work, is one that he still considers “the best job I’ll ever have.” Not only did the work expose him to statistical analysis and data analysis, which steered him toward his eventual career, but he was able to live for three months in Hawaii.
Brian Wenzinger. Photo courtesy of Pictures by Todd
After college, Wenzinger’s focus on data led him to several job opportunities, such as developing software to analyze data for quality control at DuPont. Then, after years of traveling for work and looking to settle in one place, Wenzinger took a position at DuPont’s Wilmington, Delaware, office in their pension group. Having already pursued business as a minor while at Northeastern, Wenzinger took the opportunity to get his MBA at night through the University of Delaware. Upon graduation, Wenzinger fully shifted his career to finance, where he combined his new focus on money management with his background in software development to create software that helped evaluate stocks and portfolio risks.
Today, as he enjoys early retirement from a successful career, Wenzinger welcomes the opportunity to support the school that first got him started. “I wouldn’t be here without Northeastern, so it’s important to me to give back.” He has contributed to the Carl S. Ell Scholarship, which was the fund that he benefited from as a student. Additionally, in 2003, he set up the Jane K. Wenzinger Scholarship Fund, in honor of his mother, to support students in need who wish to study computer science, with preference given to those from single-parent households, as was his situation.
Then, in 2014, Brian Wenzinger pledged $1 million over several years to fund the Larry Finkelstein Innovative Computing Education Endowment (ICEE) at Khoury. The fund, named for Wenzinger’s former professor and, at the time, dean of CCS, came out of conversations that Wenzinger and Finkelstein were having about ways to improve education at Khoury. Something that Wenzinger thought was important, but he hadn’t experienced while at Northeastern himself, was research- and academic-focused professor-student interactions. When he was pursuing his undergraduate degree, the focus had been on preparing for work and not as much on the less-tangible benefits of academia. So, Wenzinger and Finkelstein worked with the development office to create an endowment that would allow the Khoury dean to provide funds for academic experiences that fell outside of the standard classroom program. Wenzinger described it as, “If there are opportunities for growth and diversity in the educational experience, that’s what that fund is for.”
“The combination of academics and co-op was perfect for me,” he said. “I’m one of many people who will say, be smart about your co-ops. Learn what you like to do. Learn what you don’t like to do.” — Brian Wenzinger
One such funded program was introduced by Dean Carla Brodley, whose focus on increasing opportunities for women in computer science inspired her to send students to the Grace Hopper conference. As someone who was moved when he had the opportunity to hear Hopper speak in person himself, Wenzinger was thrilled that this opportunity could be shared with others. He proudly displays a signed, framed photo of a group of Khoury students who attended the conference thanks to the endowment. Additional funded activities have been both professor- and student-generated, all sharing a focus on creating innovative academic opportunities for students and their professors.
Wenzinger’s latest funding effort is in support of Northeastern’s library. Having experienced first-hand the critical importance of libraries during one of his co-ops and in his graduate program, he wanted to help Northeastern’s library better meet the needs of future students.
Wenzinger still feels lucky that his guidance counselor suggested Northeastern and put him on the path to the scholarship that made his college education and career possible. Having been on the other side of the hiring desk where he has interviewed recent computer science graduates, he recognizes the value of the education he received at Northeastern. He has since returned to the campus several times, including to tour it with his own daughters as they were looking at schools. He enjoys seeing the improvements to the campus and the updates to the CS program, including the dynamic academic opportunities he is grateful to be able to fund. “The whole environment has changed. It is never static in technology, and that’s a good thing.”
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Alumnus funds academic opportunities for the students who come after him
When Brian Wenzinger’s high school guidance counselor suggested he check out the computer science program at Northeastern University, Wenzinger wasn’t sure he would be going to college. It wasn’t a matter of academic ability or interest, but an issue of financial need. “I wasn’t going to college if I wasn’t getting money to attend,” Wenzinger explained. “Fortunately, Northeastern provided me with a scholarship, and that sealed the deal.” Receiving that scholarship not only set Wenzinger on a path to a college education plus a successful career, it also inspired him to eventually extend that opportunity to students who came after him.
Wenzinger (BSCS ‘89) has fond memories of his five years at Northeastern’s College of Computer Science (now Khoury College). One of his favorite and most valuable experiences was the co-op work. “The combination of academics and co-op was perfect for me,” he said. “I’m one of many people who will say, be smart about your co-ops. Learn what you like to do. Learn what you don’t like to do.” Wenzinger had the opportunity to take on three different co-op jobs during his time at Khoury. They all ended up being good experiences, but his first co-op in the summer after his freshman year, which involved otherwise unexciting data entry and minor programming work, is one that he still considers “the best job I’ll ever have.” Not only did the work expose him to statistical analysis and data analysis, which steered him toward his eventual career, but he was able to live for three months in Hawaii.
Brian Wenzinger. Photo courtesy of Pictures by Todd
After college, Wenzinger’s focus on data led him to several job opportunities, such as developing software to analyze data for quality control at DuPont. Then, after years of traveling for work and looking to settle in one place, Wenzinger took a position at DuPont’s Wilmington, Delaware, office in their pension group. Having already pursued business as a minor while at Northeastern, Wenzinger took the opportunity to get his MBA at night through the University of Delaware. Upon graduation, Wenzinger fully shifted his career to finance, where he combined his new focus on money management with his background in software development to create software that helped evaluate stocks and portfolio risks.
Today, as he enjoys early retirement from a successful career, Wenzinger welcomes the opportunity to support the school that first got him started. “I wouldn’t be here without Northeastern, so it’s important to me to give back.” He has contributed to the Carl S. Ell Scholarship, which was the fund that he benefited from as a student. Additionally, in 2003, he set up the Jane K. Wenzinger Scholarship Fund, in honor of his mother, to support students in need who wish to study computer science, with preference given to those from single-parent households, as was his situation.
Then, in 2014, Brian Wenzinger pledged $1 million over several years to fund the Larry Finkelstein Innovative Computing Education Endowment (ICEE) at Khoury. The fund, named for Wenzinger’s former professor and, at the time, dean of CCS, came out of conversations that Wenzinger and Finkelstein were having about ways to improve education at Khoury. Something that Wenzinger thought was important, but he hadn’t experienced while at Northeastern himself, was research- and academic-focused professor-student interactions. When he was pursuing his undergraduate degree, the focus had been on preparing for work and not as much on the less-tangible benefits of academia. So, Wenzinger and Finkelstein worked with the development office to create an endowment that would allow the Khoury dean to provide funds for academic experiences that fell outside of the standard classroom program. Wenzinger described it as, “If there are opportunities for growth and diversity in the educational experience, that’s what that fund is for.”
“The combination of academics and co-op was perfect for me,” he said. “I’m one of many people who will say, be smart about your co-ops. Learn what you like to do. Learn what you don’t like to do.” — Brian Wenzinger
One such funded program was introduced by Dean Carla Brodley, whose focus on increasing opportunities for women in computer science inspired her to send students to the Grace Hopper conference. As someone who was moved when he had the opportunity to hear Hopper speak in person himself, Wenzinger was thrilled that this opportunity could be shared with others. He proudly displays a signed, framed photo of a group of Khoury students who attended the conference thanks to the endowment. Additional funded activities have been both professor- and student-generated, all sharing a focus on creating innovative academic opportunities for students and their professors.
Wenzinger’s latest funding effort is in support of Northeastern’s library. Having experienced first-hand the critical importance of libraries during one of his co-ops and in his graduate program, he wanted to help Northeastern’s library better meet the needs of future students.
Wenzinger still feels lucky that his guidance counselor suggested Northeastern and put him on the path to the scholarship that made his college education and career possible. Having been on the other side of the hiring desk where he has interviewed recent computer science graduates, he recognizes the value of the education he received at Northeastern. He has since returned to the campus several times, including to tour it with his own daughters as they were looking at schools. He enjoys seeing the improvements to the campus and the updates to the CS program, including the dynamic academic opportunities he is grateful to be able to fund. “The whole environment has changed. It is never static in technology, and that’s a good thing.”
Read More
© 2024 Northeastern University
Khoury Social
Contact Khoury
440 Huntington Avenue, 202 West Village H
Boston, MA 02115
617.373.2462
TTY: 617.373.3768
Khoury Social
Contact Khoury
440 Huntington Avenue, 202 West Village H
Boston, MA 02115
617.373.2462
TTY: 617.373.3768
x
x
About
Programs
Experiential Learning
Research
Life at Khoury
Information for...
x
About
Programs
Experiential Learning
Research
Life at Khoury
Information for...
© 2024 Northeastern University
Khoury Social
Contact Khoury
440 Huntington Avenue, 202 West Village H
Boston, MA 02115
617.373.2462
TTY: 617.373.3768
Khoury Social
Contact Khoury
440 Huntington Avenue, 202 West Village H
Boston, MA 02115
617.373.2462
TTY: 617.373.3768
x
x
About
Programs
Experiential Learning
Research
Life at Khoury
Information for...
x
About
Programs
Experiential Learning
Research
Life at Khoury
Information for...