Becoming a Jayhawk: Andrew Reyes on Internships and Involvement
In KU’s School of Engineering, computer science is helping this Jayhawk turn big ideas into real opportunities.
Every Jayhawk has a story. In this series, we’re highlighting the journeys of KU students who are making their mark on campus, overcoming obstacles and seizing the opportunities that help them grow. These personal stories reflect the spirit and resilience that define KU.
We’re sharing our conversation with Andrew Reyes, a junior majoring in computer science in the School of Engineering. As a SELF Fellow, Andrew is part of a unique leadership development program that’s helping him expand his skills beyond the classroom.
He’s involved in a wide variety of community outreach programs, as well as the KU Beekeeping Club and the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM). He’s a Resident Assistant and an ambassador for the School of Engineering too. His campus involvement and dedication recently helped him land his dream internship.
Q: Tell us a little about you and your involvement at KU.
A: I’m a junior in computer science and an ambassador for the School of Engineering. I’m part of KU’s SELF program, which is a four-year engineering fellowship that combines technical engineering skills with a business mindset. It’s the main reason I chose KU — it’s such a great program.
My campus involvement has come a long way. My freshman year, I was able to get involved in some of the engineering clubs and started to make connections. I was a summer camp ambassador for our KU engineering summer camp, where I was able to interact with some of the faculty, as well as 400 engineering-interested high schoolers. Now I’m involved in so many clubs, and I am an ambassador for the School of Engineering.
Q: How do you feel like the SELF Program has benefited you?
A: We have guest speakers that come to our weekly seminars and talk to us about industry topics. It’s everything from how to create a good pitch, how to do resumes, how to work in teams and communicate or how to sell yourself at a career fair. Oftentimes these workshops are not only beneficial to our project, but also to my classes, to my work and even to my personal life.
Right now, I'm working on my SELF Enterprise Project. It’s basically a senior capstone, but we start in our junior year, and it's a big project for us, because we work on it for a year and a half.
Q: How has being a SELF Fellow helped you turn your ideas into action?
A: For my SELF Enterprise Project, I’m trying to work with KU grounds and all the KU coffee shops to reuse used grounds to compost them and then use them in our landscapes and our gardens. The concept is to not waste those used grounds, because they're super nutrient-dense.
Starting a project like this is difficult because you don't have prior experience or the background to teach you how to navigate that. So, our weekly seminars will have workshops on how to talk to stakeholders, how to identify who your partners are and how to start those lines of communication. They show us how to expand our networks, how to allocate our budget and plan a timeline.
In the beginning, we're of course not necessarily supposed to know how to go about these projects, but we can use the workshops to help us plan. The SELF program feels super beneficial to my future career with all the seminars and workshops and topics that we talk about.
Q: You mentioned a campus job, too. How is that role preparing you for a computer science career?
A: I really wanted an internship after my freshman year. But in my degree, specifically, it can be hard to find open spots. Luckily I was able to look through KU’s student employment website, and I found a listing for a student software engineer through our Natural History Museum with a company called Specify Collections Consortium.
It’s nice, because after class I can go to the museum and work a job that's acquainted with my major, and I gain real industry knowledge and experience. I can do it on campus, so I don't have to leave or drive anywhere, and I think that's been one of my best opportunities here at KU.
Q: Can you share a little about how you landed your upcoming internship?
A: The engineering and computing career fair has been so beneficial. As a freshman, it was hard for me to talk to the recruiters, but I went into it to learn how to present myself and most importantly, build that relationship and network.
My freshman and sophomore year, I went to the career fair every single time they had it and talked to the same recruiter over and over about my classes and experience and their open positions. This year, I was able to secure the internship I really wanted at Koch Industries in Wichita, and that's the most rewarding feeling for me!
Q: You’re also a resident assistant here on campus. How has that shaped your experience?
A: Living on campus has been one of my best decisions, even though I was born and raised in Lawrence. I chose to live in Self Hall, the engineering dorm, my freshman year, and it was one of the best experiences of my life. I met some of my best friends there. I saw how cool the RAs were and thought, 'I can do this.'
I applied for the RA position, which I’ve held for the past two years. Fun fact, I’ve lived on the same floor for the past three years, which I don't think anyone's done, to my knowledge! It's super beneficial because I get free housing and a meal plan, and I get to meet over 120 new people each year, mentoring them and showing them the ropes of campus life. This role has been so valuable for me in my time at KU.
Q: What’s your favorite part about being a Jayhawk?
A: Whenever I’m wearing something KU-related in an airport or even 20 states away from here, I always hear Rock Chalk from alumni. That's something that's so great about our school's traditions that I don't see anywhere else, and there's always that personal connection. I’m excited to be part of that tradition.
We have such a great alumni base, and they span across so many companies, states and countries, and those connections are encouraged here. I also feel like the opportunities at KU are granted to everyone, no matter who you are, no matter what you're studying, and I feel like that is something that's so awesome about KU.
