CSpotlight: On target for a career in tech

This future is bright for computer science undergraduate student Bonna Dabala. After spending the last two years as a software engineering intern at Target, he's hoping to continue to grow his career with the organization. In the future, he also hopes to mentor and provide access to underrepresented students in computer science and technology, including others in the Oromo community.

Why did you choose to study at the University of Minnesota?

I was considering a number of universities, including Loyola in Chicago and Augsburg. My brother already attended the University of Minnesota, so I knew there was a strong community through the Oromo Student Union to support me on campus. I was also offered a pretty good scholarship, so everything came together to lead me to the U of M.

How did you become interested in computer science?

My first experience with computer science was about a year before I came to the University. CS&E professors Stephen Guy and Maria Gini were hosting a bootcamp for students to learn Python. It was a very friendly and comfortable environment for me to be introduced to computing, which essentially opened up the field for me. This was actually also part of the reason why I chose the University of Minnesota!

What made you decide to pursue a B.I.S. rather than a B.S. or B.A. degree?

Originally, I focused only on computer science, which was my only major at the time. However, I eventually decided that I did not want to limit myself to just computer science and wanted to broaden my learning experience. I know that there are many ways computer science can intersect with other fields and I wanted to broaden my learning experience. One of my goals is to connect computer science and technology to people of diverse crowds, such as the Oromo people and those who came from a background that is not well-presented.

What made you decide to become an intern for Target? What projects did you work on as their intern?

Research is cool however being part of industry is also super fun. You have a lot more flexibility and are able to learn a lot more in my opinion. At Target, you have the option to choose what team you want to be a part of and what exactly you want to work on, such as UX/UI or back-end development. It’s a lot more open-ended and supportive, which I like.

I’ve been with Target for two years, and I’ve done work on API. Last year, my team and I created a website that contains all of the data from every Target store in the country, such as inventories and supplies. The website is meant for the employees to look at and see what is left of what kind of item.

How did you get involved with the Target Diversity Leadership Symposium? Tell us more about this experience.

This was actually what got me into Target! I met Darielle Gengler through a campus recruitment program and she was the one who set me up with the symposium. I honestly loved the symposium and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in working for Target.

This happened right before the pandemic, so we were able to go on a tour at the Target headquarters in downtown Minneapolis. There was also a case competition involving coding and a hackathon, where we were given a Target-specific issue and we had to figure out how to solve it using computer science. I didn’t win but it was so much fun and I had an amazing time!

What advice do you have for incoming computer science students?

Don’t be afraid to challenge yourself. It’s so easy to think that something is “hard” and that you can’t do it. However, if you are able to push yourself to get to that point, you’ll be able to succeed in everything else. Failing is also a part of this process because there are definitely some classes that I really didn’t like my grades—but I got through them eventually!

Also, try to reach out to as many internship opportunities as you can since you’ll be able to gain a lot of experience from them. This is also how you can find out if you really enjoy what you’re studying. School really doesn’t always reflect what you’ll be doing outside of it!

What are your plans after graduation?

I’m planning to go into industry right away, and continue my career with Target. Ideally, sometime down the road, I would love to open a community center and create a mentorship program for youth who do not have access to technology.

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