After Ursinus

kelly Reynolds
kelly Reynolds

Kelly Reynolds

Senior Technical Program Manager at Amazon

Major(s)

Mathematics and Computer Science

Minor(s)

Statistics

Current Position

Senior Technical Program Manager at Amazon’s headquarters in Seattle

About

Now a Senior Technical Program Manager at Amazon’s headquarters in Seattle, my journey began at Ursinus as a Mathematics major without a clear career direction. Through the Mathematics major requirements, I took the Computer Science 101 class, which gave me an interesting and challenging real-world outlet to apply mathematics concepts. I was drawn to the puzzles that could be solved with elegant solutions and how to look at a problem from multiple angles. Code is both a creative and scientific, and the feeling that comes with solving a problem can’t be matched.

 

My professors encouraged me to add the computer science minor, then to take on the major, and eventually to do Distinguished Honors Research. While at Ursinus, I did two summers and a year of research on automating detection of cybercrime and published 3 papers to International Peer-Reviewed publications. This experience encouraged me to continue my education and pursue a Masters of Computer Science at Lehigh University. The mentorship I received from my Ursinus professors impacted my career path so significantly that I can honestly say I would not be where I am today without Ursinus.

 

Today, my role at Amazon requires me to communicate with a broad range of people, from users to engineers. The liberal arts education I received at Ursinus gave me both the technical and communication skills to take on this diverse role. At Amazon, we are solving difficult problems at the largest scale imaginable. The environment is fast-paced and encourages creativity and adaptability; Ursinus gave me the tools I need to work hard, have fun, and make history.