To celebrate the Spring 2025 Commencement, Information and Educational Technology (IET) is spotlighting some standout seniors in the Student Professional Development Program (SPDP). The program provides student employees with opportunities to innovate and succeed by building real-word products and services used by the campus.
Click the images below to meet the UC Davis graduates who are launching their careers in tech thanks to the skills they developed and the support they received in the SPDP.
SPDP Graduate Spotlights
Alp Guler
Alp Guler has been a dedicated SPDP participant since October 2023. Working closely with IET mentors, he developed real-world applications for the campus community, including an AI vision app that sharpened his technical skills and exposed him to the full app development lifecycle. Guler emphasized the value of campus jobs like SPDP for gaining practical experience and learning how to turn a client’s vision into a functioning product.
“Everyone strives to get these real-world experiences before they graduate but I feel like some people overlook campus jobs,” Guler explained. “This program has helped me understand how to take a client’s vision and turn it into something real.”
Beyond technical growth, Guler views SPDP as a professional launch pad. The program has boosted his confidence in job interviews, where he says interviewees are impressed with the hands-on experience gained working on SPDP projects. He credits the program’s strong support system of mentors and peers for not only helping with coding challenges but also offering career guidance.
Lingfeng Ren
Lingfeng (Ling) Ren was drawn to IET in 2023 by his fascination with backend systems and his desire to contribute to technology used across the university. Once in the program, Ren immersed himself in impactful software projects and IT problem-solving, gaining hands-on experience in areas like server infrastructure and cloud hosting—experiences he wouldn't have found in traditional classroom settings. His time with SPDP has paid off significantly.
“I’ve received a few offers for jobs related directly to the work I did managing server infrastructure, cloud hosting, and other IT operations,” Ren explained. “I ended up accepting an internship at one of the big tech companies, Oracle, in Seattle. I spent a of time using their software while working with the SPDP team.”
Ren credits the complexity of the work and the exposure to industry-level tools for helping him stand out in a competitive field. Just as important, he appreciated the SPDP team's flexibility and understanding of student workloads, which allowed him and his peers to succeed while balancing rigorous academic demands.
Read Lingfeng Ren's full story.
Yaw Mireku
Yaw Mireku began his journey with IET as a freshman working at the Help Desk, a role he hadn’t originally sought but came to value deeply. The experience sharpened his communication skills as he learned to translate technical concepts for non-technical audiences—skills that proved essential when he transitioned to a programming role with the SPDP. One major project, updating the Oasis degree audit interface, highlighted how crucial clear, effective communication is in tech roles that bridge users and systems.
“For many computer scientists, talking to a computer is easier than talking to other people,” Mireku admitted. “But in my first role with IET, I learned how to turn off my programmer brain so I could translate what advisors were telling me into technical code and then reverse it and explain to them what I was doing in plain English.”
In addition to technical expertise, Mireku gained collaboration and interpersonal skills that helped him land an internship at Google, where he worked on an AI agent project. He credits his success not only to the hands-on experience but also to the strong network of mentors and peers he built through SPDP. That combination of hard and soft skills led to a full-time job offer at Google after graduation!
About the SPDP
All three of our SPDP seniors encouraged others to apply to the program, emphasizing how early exposure to real-world work and community support can open major career doors. Learn more about the SPDP at: https://studentpowered.ucdavis.edu/
Students interested in working in Information and Educational Technology can browse job openings at: https://ucdavis.joinhandshake.com/login (UC Davis login required)