Department: Computer Science and Engineering
Degree program: B.S., Computer Science
Graduation year: 2025
Hometown: Concord, CA
LinkedIn: Madeline Miller
“Baskin Engineering prepared me for a career post-graduation by providing a strong foundation in software engineering, algorithms, and machine learning. The courses and projects helped me develop practical coding skills, problem-solving, and experience working on collaborative and complex technical challenges.”
Madeline Miller became interested in technology after seeing how many different ways it impacts our world. At UC Santa Cruz, she served as vice president of Girls Who Code, mentored students as a tutor, and graduated Summa Cum Laude with Highest Honors in Computer Science, ranking in the top 2% of the Class of 2025. Miller now works as a software engineer at Argonne National Laboratory.
Why did you choose UC Santa Cruz and Baskin Engineering?
I was drawn to UC Santa Cruz for its beautiful campus, with towering redwoods and bright yellow banana slugs, and well as the opportunity to join a community that values learning and innovation. Baskin Engineering stood out for its strong student organizations and focus on collaboration. It felt like the right place to challenge myself academically while also building meaningful connections and getting involved outside of the classroom.
What experiences shaped your interest in computer science?
During my junior year of high school, my dad showed me snippets of programming languages such as Python and Structured Query Language—I remember thinking how exciting it was that he created software to solve real-world problems. I enrolled in computer science classes the following year and, at the last minute, switched my college applications from business and accounting to computer science.
At UCSC, I realized how versatile and impactful technology could be, and I was eager to explore the many paths computer science has to offer.
How did your courses at Baskin Engineering prepare you for your career?
Courses such as CSE 144: Applied Machine Learning and CSE 115B/C: Software Design Project, gave me hands-on experience building end-to-end systems and collaborating with peers.
CSE 115 B/C allows students to work on corporate-sponsored projects, and I collaborated with Keysight Technologies to develop an artificial intelligence-based plugin generation system. This experience helped me build strong relationships with professionals at Keysight Technologies, and after the project, I joined the company as an R&D software and DevOps intern, which further strengthened my software development skills.
Baskin Engineering prepared me for a career post-graduation by providing a strong foundation in software engineering, algorithms, and machine learning (ML). The courses and projects helped me develop practical coding skills, problem-solving, and experience working on collaborative and complex technical challenges.
Where are you currently working?
I work as a software engineer I at Argonne National Laboratory in the X-Ray Science Division in Chicago. My role involves developing software solutions that integrate high-performance computing and ML to drive scientific research, supporting data analysis at the Advanced Photon Source facility.
What internships or extracurricular activities did you get involved with as an undergraduate?
While at UC Santa Cruz, I joined JP Morgan Chase as an AI Fellow through Cornell’s Break Through Tech AI Program, where I developed an AI-driven financial news analysis agent. I gained hands-on experience building ML models under the mentorship of industry experts.
I also served as vice president and outreach officer of Girls Who Code at UC Santa Cruz, where I organized professional development workshops and technical sessions. I enjoyed these positions because they gave me the chance to mentor first- and second-year students.
What advice would you give students interested in a similar path?
My biggest advice for students is to be persistent. When I started college, many of my peers had been coding since middle school or earlier, while I only began learning about computer science in my senior year of high school. I stayed persistent—attending office hours and sections, pursuing leadership roles in student organizations, and applying for internships.
With every rejection, I kept trying until I achieved what I set out to do. I believe progress is made by laying one brick at a time, consistently putting in effort every day toward your goals.
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