Joselito Santana and the Link Between College Life and Future Work

For alumnus Joselito “Lito” Santana (BSCS ’01), his undergraduate memories as a computer science major at Northeastern remain vividly positive, and he believes the university today maintains the best elements from the early 2000s. Lito describes the atmosphere as “vibrant, full of energy,” with the campus bustling with students – same then as it is now.

When he wasn’t busy with the Latin American Student Organization’s (LASO) meetings, Lito remembers “Chicken Lou’s for lunch, meeting up with friends at Curry Student Center, and lots of late nights in the labs at Cullinane hall.”

Like students today, Lito was faced with challenging classes. He remembers struggling to get an A in his Algorithms class. “At the time,” he says, “It was very difficult material for me, but within our study group we had such great collaboration that I think it made the whole team understand the concepts a lot better.” Despite the struggles of attaining good grades in tough classes, Lito stayed focused on his approach to learning, like using his hands-on learning style to his advantage by participating in research, mastering low-level concepts, and thinking methodically.

As an undergraduate, Lito completed three co-ops at Stratus Computer (now Stratus Technologies), Brooktrout Technology, and Nowspeed Inc. At Stratus, he completed an IT-focused role where he ran the backup and restore process for a test system. His role at Brooktrout Technology allowed him to use a company-created platform “to write demo applications to illustrate simple concepts to customers.” At Nowspeed, Lito fixed bugs, trained staff members, and worked on test plans for validating new releases.

Lito says these co-op experiences exposed him to different languages and platforms. Reflecting back, he says, “Each position helped me understand early in my career what I would want for my future.”

Currently, Lito works at Salesforce as a lead software engineer with the Storefront Search team to develop solutions for both specific and general cases. He designs approaches, coordinates with the developers in his team, and occasionally works on implementing his own solutions.

In the future, Lito sees himself advancing to an architect role where he can make broader decisions, consistent with his goal of “helping a younger generation achieve their dreams.” He encourages current Khoury College undergraduates to cherish their time at Northeastern and to “step out of your comfort zone and explore the world around you.”