For Prashanthi Akuthota, going into the Information Technology (IT) industry was an easy decision to make. It is almost like the family business.
“In my family, most of my siblings- my brother, sisters, everybody- has an IT position,” Akuthota said. “Seeing them in IT jobs, I developed a similar interest.”
She said that her female family members in IT were good role models for her and inspired her to pursue this career.
“My sister and sister-in-law are in IT, and I learned […]I can manage both an IT job and have a family,” Akuthota said. “It’s not a big deal that women are in IT; we can do the same job as men. We can do everything.”
This influence is big part of why Akuthota is currently pursuing her Master of Science in Information Technology at Hood College. She is an international student originally from Delhi, India, and is also a part-time graduate administrative assistant at the Graduate School.
Akuthota said that after she received her Bachelor’s in Electronics and Communication Engineering from the AVN Institute of Technology in India, she realized she was interested in the IT field. She had been working as an automation tester at Brand Width Technologies, but realized there were new technologies and skills she wanted to learn.
When it came to deciding where to get her master’s degree, the decision was made easier to come to the U.S. by the fact that she had family living here.
“I chose Hood College because I have a few family members near here that can help me and they said that there are really good programs here,” Akuthota said. “It was difficult for me to come to a new country. The first few weeks were difficult, but now it’s good.”
Akuthota said there are a lot of differences between school in the U.S. and India, but that she likes the differences.
“In India there might be 70 or 80 people in a class and here it will be more like 20 people in a class. Also, there are more opportunities to talk to the professor and build on conversations in person or over email,” Akuthota said.
She said she has also enjoyed many of the courses in her degree program.
“I’m very interested in the course on managing project teams, which I have this semester, telecommunications and networking, and a course on ethics, law and policies,” Akuthota said. “It’s been interesting to learn about the laws, policies, ethics in IT.”
She hopes to get internships to gain more skills after she graduates. She wants to continue to work in manual and automation testing in the U.S.
“I test for programs like Java and Python, giving them tasks like a person would, to see if they are working or not,” Akuthota said. “If they are working, the program will change. If not, then I must do more testing to figure out what lines to change to get the right result.”
“I think it’s simple compared to Java and other technologies. I also think it’s exciting to test different things and choosing every possibility to get the right result.”
She said she has also really enjoyed her role as the graduate assistant. She reviews admission applications, admission letters, and helps students with the application process. She also keeps the student information and data organized for program directors. She also gets to interact with and help a lot of students like herself.
“I organize events, like orientation days, and events celebrating other countries. I get to create a connection with people from countries all over the world,” Akuthota said. “I also get to help international students with information, like telling them what will happen next in the process, what the programs are like, and so on.”
For Akuthota, it was important to learn about American culture and felt like it was easy to make friends and meet new people through her role as a graduate assistant.
“My team is very good; I like them a lot. They showed me around- where to go, what to buy, what things to do,” Akuthota said. “I recommend doing international studies, but you can’t just study, you have to learn everything about the culture, too.”