For HopeRose Puroll of Scituate, RI, technology is a fascinating labyrinth of possibilities. Originally enrolled at the University of Vermont, Puroll transferred to URI for personal, professional, and financial reasons. “I ended up not really fitting in or finding a community there,” she says of her time in Vermont. “I decided to try again at a local school where at least I would be close to home. URI has a fantastic engineering program and the ability to work within the College of Engineering and the College of Arts and Sciences at the same time is what sold me.”
Bridging the gap between two colleges, Puroll is pursuing a double major in computer science (CSC) and computer engineering. “Computers are amazing puzzles that can do more than we can even comprehend, but we need to understand them and how to ‘speak their language’, if you will, to get them to do those things,” she states, “CSC teaches the speaking, but studying computer engineering as well has really enriched my understanding of what I am working on.” Puroll’s passion for computational technology was only furthered by her time at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, to which she was invited by URI’s Department of Computer Science and Statistics. “It essentially inverts the general gender distribution in computing, with over 15,000 women in tech in attendance each day,” Puroll explains, “I had five separate interviews there and received four offers, which helped me establish confidence as well as getting me an internship with Walt Disney Imagineering.”
With this vast array of unique and valuable experiences under her belt, Puroll looks forward to her commencement in May 2020. Moving away from her days as an Imagineer, however, Puroll hopes to work as an engineer or analyst in technical management before going on to pursue her MBA/MsCS. She notes that she’s thankful for all the opportunities URI provided, her advice to current and future students falling directly in line: “Look for those opportunities! Sign up for everything. You never know which opportunity will work out.”
~Written by Chase Hoffman ’21, Writing & Rhetoric and Anthropology double major