Alumni Spotlight: David Katsandres ('18)

Meet alumnus David Katsandres ’18!

Katsandres was a computer science major at Western.

“I loved my time in the computer science department at Western. Professors who had a big impact on me are Aran Clauson, who taught me computer systems and UNIX software development. Aran's teaching style, depth of knowledge, and ability to inspire curiosity made taking his classes a real treat. Brian Hutchinson was another professor that had a huge impact on my interest and success in computer networking. Finally, Phil Nelson taught my all-time favorite class: device drivers. That class challenged me in new ways (like how to test your code when a small mistake can result in a kernel panic) and really solidified my interest in lower-level programming. Outside CS, I have to say that I would not have made it through all of my math classes without all the help from the amazing student tutors in the math center.”

The career fairs, career services center, and interview prep clubs all helped David out tremendously in applying to internships and jobs and preparing for interviews. He also landed an internship in Bellingham by attending one of the career fairs on campus.

“I got an internship at F5 on their security engineering team the summer before my last year at Western. It was a great experience and they hired me full-time after I graduated. I took electives in computer security and networking during my last two years at Western which helped out a lot for me landing that first job. After working at F5 for three years in the security and identity spaces, I was ready for a change to learn new technologies. I was just recently hired as a senior software engineer at Lessen, a startup in the real estate industry."

Katsandres loves his job at Lessen, where he was hired into a senior position right out of Western.

"It has been a lot of fun to change jobs where every technology they're using is new to me. The people at Lessen are really fun to work with, too. It was a huge accomplishment for me to get hired as senior software engineer.”

Katsandres loves spending time outdoors weather its skiing, running, and have recently gotten in to backpacking. He is very happy that live music has started up again.

“For students graduating soon, I would say don't sell yourself short! The classes you've taken and projects you've done at Western are fantastic experience that employers will really value. I'm sure they've only gotten better in the last few years as well. Also, soak in those last few months in Bellingham if you're planning on moving—you're going to miss it!”