Marcela

My Background

I graduated from Santa Clara University in 2011 with a BA in Communications. I had a very non-traditional start to my career in that I had a few odd jobs after college, including working at Enterprise Rent-A-Car. I decided quickly after graduation that I wanted a career in recruiting, but found it tough to get my start. A while later, I interviewed for a sales job and found out they also had a recruiting position available. I saw my opportunity and I took it! I began working at a staffing agency and have since worked at several large tech companies including Hewlett-Packard, Amazon, Meta, and Nike, where I currently work.

I decided to go back to school in 2021, after a decade of working full-time. It was a difficult decision for me since I had been out of school for so long and I was unsure if I’d be able to handle the workload. After much reflection, I realized this would be the best opportunity for me to advance my career. I also love that the Align MS in Computer Science program has allowed me to become even closer with my mom, who was also a software engineer prior to retiring.

My Future

I am excited for a career where I can solve complex problems, where there are new challenges every day since technology is constantly changing. I want to help build tools that can bring people closer together. This is especially near to my heart because my parents are both from Nicaragua and we still have a lot of family out there, including my 93-year-old grandmother. I want to help create tools that could allow us to traverse these long distances without having to sit through long plane rides and layovers, so that I can spend more time with my grandmother and less time traveling. Some areas I am most interested in are mixed reality and web development, both of which could also leverage my passion for creativity and artistic thinking.