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CSE Congratulates its Spring 2023 Outstanding Graduates

In the College of Engineering Induction to the Profession Ceremony in both fall and spring semesters, CSE recognizes a graduate from each of its four undergraduate degree programs with outstanding academic accomplishments. For spring 2023, the outstanding graduates were John Meeks (computer science), Comfort Anyanwu (computer engineering), Kayley Burinski (cybersecurity), and Patric Damiens (information technology).

John Meeks (Computer Science)

“I chose to pursue a Computer Science degree because from a young age I have always been interested in technology and computing” said John. During his time at USF, John spent a year working as a student developer for the Judy Genshaft Honors College, and made countless lifelong friends. In addition to completing a BS in Computer Science, John completed a BA in Mathematics, and graduated from the honors college. He also completed a year-long independent study program with Fanatics, and maintained a perfect 4.0 across both degrees, earning the King O’Neal Scholar Award at graduation. He plans to eventually attend grad school while pursuing a career in the computer science field.

Comfort Anyanwu (Computer Engineering)

A first-generation college student, Comfort was born in Austria and moved to Tampa in 2010. Her father served in the Navy as a satellite technician and her mother was a small business owner from Benin, West Africa. Anyanwu participated in the Tampa Bay Girls Underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle Camp, a K-12 partnership program where girls build underwater robots. This inspired Anyanwu to pursue a degree in computer engineering. At USF, she conducted research, presented her findings at conferences nationwide, served in the USF chapter of Engineers Without Borders as their public relations and fundraising chair, interned as a systems engineer for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency in Washington, D.C., and was a recipient of the United Negro College Fund. Her internship at ConnectWise in Tampa will transition into a full-time role as a software developer.

Kayley Burinski (Cybersecurity)

Graduating with a Bachelor’s in Cybersecurity, Kayley received the King O’Neal Scholar Award for her academic distinction. She served as Undergraduate Teacher Assistant for “Introduction to Databases for IT”, “Web Systems”, and “Network Security and Firewalls.” She interned at HealthPlanOne as a Data Privacy/Security Intern, and at Rapid7 as a Technical Support Engineer Intern. Kayley says, “I am very thankful for the opportunity to walk the stage, especially since I could not walk for my High School Graduation due to Covid.”

Patric Damiens (Information Technology)

Patric is excited about working in the IT field while currently pursuing a master's degree in computer science. While he felt academically challenged as an undergraduate student, he never felt overwhelmed, largely thanks to  CSE’s helpful professors and student communities. The most rewarding work he did at USF was on larger projects that had applications outside of the classroom, such as building websites, maintaining physical servers, or reverse-engineering malware. Patric said, “Ever since I was a kid, I have always been drawn towards hands-on work with computers. I felt that an IT degree would best prepare me for technical problem solving in the domains of both computer software and hardware.”