It has been quite a summer here at VMASC! We have been incredibly lucky to host several summer interns and GRAs over the past few weeks, who have been working with different project scientists and helping with game design, communications, computer software programs and more.

We are excited to have been part of their academic journey.

Meet some of the interns and GRAs in alphabetical order:

Julius Austin is an ODU undergraduate student, majoring in Game Studies and Design. Julius chose his major due to his love of video games. “I’ve been playing video games my whole life, so I naturally gravitated towards game design,” Julius said. “Once I had taken my core classes at ODU and started to take game design classes last year, they helped solidify and decide for sure that I wanted to be a game design modeler.” Julius has been helping Lead Project Scientist Bratislav Cvijetic on building models of video game consoles and VR headsets.

Julius Austin

Drew Brown is an ODU graduate student, working on his master’s degree in Cybersecurity. He has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering Technology from ODU. Drew is from Yorktown, VA and is a veteran who served six years in the Navy as a Hospital Corpsman. Drew hopes to apply his higher education to fill an important need: security in manufacturing and business. Drew is in the first cohort of ODU’s “Preparing Future Cybersecurity LeADERS through Applied Learning Experiences” initiative and part of being in the cohort will be pursuing a career with the federal government. During this past summer, Drew has been working with and learning about open-source geographic information systems, and learning how to serve, manipulate and derive geospatial data demographics as part of an open data initiative. He has really enjoyed “learning about the vast disciplines associated with research at VMASC. I’m able to interact with some of ODU’s smartest researchers to learn about the various responsibilities of developers, project scientists, and project managers,” Drew said. “Most importantly, I’m learning how all this research connects to education outreach in our local Hampton Roads area and beyond.”

Drew Brown

Jared Cochran is a Tidewater Community College undergraduate student, studying engineering, who plans to attend ODU soon as a computer engineering student. Jared has been exposed to computers since he was young. “My dad has been big on building computers since I was a kid. Over the years, I’ve been interested in designing CPUs from scratch, CPU schematics, and programming firmware. I’m interested in how the brain of the computer works,” Jared said. During his internship, Jared has been helping Assistant Director of Technology for Collaborative Spaces John Shull on an autonomous cargo delivery project.

Jared Cochran

Lindsay Cook is an ODU undergraduate student, majoring in English and Communications. Under the supervision of Alex Nielsen, Director of Strategic Capabilities Development, Lindsay has been working on digital assets and helping to support the VMASC communications team. After graduation next year, Lindsay plans to pursue a career in the strategic communications field. “I’m currently still exploring, but I like strategic communications and planning. I like to receive information, organize it and make it accessible and easy for everyone to understand,” Lindsay said.

Lindsay Cook

Richard “Ricky” Cordner is an ODU undergraduate student, studying Cyber-Operations. Ricky was born and raised in the Hampton Roads area and his sister is an ODU graduate. As a kid, Ricky wanted to study computer science, but he said cybersecurity seemed more interesting. “My dad is in the cybersecurity field and he is the one that introduced it to me. It just seemed really interesting,” Ricky said. During his internship, Ricky worked on an NIH project that helps ODU students with their drinking habits. Once he graduates, Richard plans to “pursue a career in cybersecurity at organizations such as NASA or Booz Allen Hamilton.”

Richard Cordner

Kellie Fennell is an ODU graduate student who has an associate degree in Liberal Arts from Northwest Vista in San Antonio, a bachelor’s degree in Communication and Media Studies from ODU and now working on her master’s degree in Lifespan and Digital Communications. In the future, Kellie said she wants to work in Public Relations. “I’ll ultimately do what God wants me to do, but I like working in the disability realm with social media and marketing,” Kellie said. Kellie has been helping Director of Technology for Collaborative Spaces Hector Garcia with creating brochures and newsletters and helping the VMASC communications team.

Kellie Fennell

Fredous Gambo is an ODU graduate student, majoring in Lifespan & Digital Communications. She has a bachelor’s degree from ODU in Communications with a minor in Human Services. Fredous is originally from Nigeria and moved to Richmond, VA six years ago with her family. “After I graduate, I’m hoping to get a job in communications, something writing related, like public relations and marketing,” Fredous said. During her internship, Fredous has been helping with research and marketing strategy for a new nonprofit website, under the supervision of Dr. Krzysztof Rechowicz, Research Assistant Professor.

Fredous Gambo

Emmanuel Jiménez is an ODU undergraduate student, majoring in Communications Film and TV Production. Emmanuel was born in Panama and moved to the U.S. when he was 8 years old, so he is fluent in Spanish. Emmanuel chose his major because he is “passionate about visual storytelling and being able to capture stories and data in order to communicate with others.” During his internship, Emmanuel interviewed researchers, gathered information and data in order to create a corporate video for a project – Modeling Religious Change (MRC).

Emmanuel Jiménez

Devon Nelson is an ODU undergraduate student, studying Game Studies and Design in the College of Arts & Letters. “I always knew I wanted to make games ever since my first Xbox and I played Jet Set Radio,” Devon said. During his internship, Devon has been helping Lead Project Scientist Bratislav Cvijetic with game console models and 3D design for robots and drones. Devon’s favorite game right now to play is Genship Impact – an open-world action RPG, where the player sets forth on a journey across a fantasy world called Teyvat.

Devon Nelson

Virginia Zamponi is an international graduate student at ODU, studying Modeling and Simulation Engineering. and a GRA for VMASC. Virginia is from Padua, a small city in Italy, near Venice. She moved to the U.S. when she was 12 years old when her dad was transferred to the military base in Norfolk, VA. Supervised by Kevin O’Brien, Computer Systems Analyst, Virginia has been working in the Capabilities Lab on various projects. “I’m enjoying learning more about my field by doing hands-on tasks and learning more about where my true passions in my field lie,” Virginia said.

Virginia Zamponi

Tobin Zheng is an ODU undergraduate student, majoring in computer science. After graduation, Tobin wants to move out of state and find a software engineering position revolving around Front-End applications. During his internship, Tobin’s tasks have been “revolving around Geo-spatial applications, and my work has involved large amounts of documentation and troubleshooting in regard to back-end development,” Tobin said. During his time at VMASC, Tobin wants to hone his skills as a software engineering and learn all he can from our project scientists. In his spare time, Tobin said he likes to catch up on sleep.

Tobin Zheng