Computer Science Club Hosts Alumni Spotlight Chris Connelly ’04
The Springfield College Computer Science Club hosted alumnus, Chris Connelly ’04, on Wednesday, November 15, 2023. View Photo Gallery...
By: Damon Markiewicz
The Springfield College Computer Science Club hosted alumnus, Chris Connelly ’04, on Wednesday, November 15, 2023, for a virtual chat as part of the club's alumni spotlight series connecting current students with successful alumni. Connelly provided an insightful interview talking about his journey in the tech industry, and described how the Springfield College experience assisted him along the way.
“I’ve run into people over the years that are from Springfield and we will instantly have that connection," explained Connelly, who graduated from Springfield College with a bachelor's degree in computer graphics. "I love what I do, and that all started at Springfield. I truly believe Springfield College is a hidden gem in the computer graphics field, and I enjoy connecting with the current students so we can continue to grow the College together."
Connelly is currently working as a staff software engineer at Coinbase in New York City, and he recapped his expertise in user interface (UI) architecture, front-end, design systems, web application, and web video.
“I learned how to learn at Springfield, and I was able to apply those paradigms I learned in the classroom, and apply them to things out in the real world,” explained Connelly.
Over the course of nearly two decades of his career in the tech industry, Connelly has worn various hats, including those of front-end UI architect, UI engineer, lead user experience (UX) designer, interaction designer, creative director, Maya artist, and more. Connelly has not only worked for an impressive list of companies like WWE, Samsung Electronics, Coinbase, and Major League Baseball, but he has also co-founded a company called Spothook, a cloud-based recruiting platform.
“The technology will always change, but having the ability to learn and view things as a means to the end is very helpful," explained Connelly. "As long as you know where you need to get to, it doesn’t matter how you get there. Once you figure out how to best learn things, that’s the golden ticket to figuring out anything.”
Led by the secretary of the Computer Science Club Jay Holmes, class of 2025, attendees were able to ask Connelly for professional tips that they can take with them as they continue along in their academic careers.
Connelly went on to provide some fundamental career advice for students looking for careers in the technology world, wisdom that has been collected since he departed Alden Street.
“I think you need to have that natural curiosity and that natural interest in doing it in the off-hours,” explained Connelly. “Have casual conversations, kick around different approaches, strategies, articles, tweets whatever it is, be receptive to that stuff. You have to make it through those challenging moments to figure out what your next move is.”
And when that next adventure presents itself, it's important to meet the challenge head-on.
“You have to be self-sufficient, and you have to be willing to step out of your comfort zone,” added Connelly.
Closing out the evening was Prashant Timalsina, president of the Computer Science Club, who connected with Connelly with some final advice to take away from the virtual session.
"When you get that first opportunity, you’re going to want to jump on anything you can to increase your knowledge base and increase your sprawl of what kind of value you can offer,” concluded Connelly. “Don’t feel like you have to always check certain boxes, find what makes you happy and don’t be afraid of that.”
